In an effort to cut down on alcohol-related car crashes, injuries and deaths, Cornell University Police will be conducting sobriety checkpoints and fielding DWI saturation patrols randomly on and near campus throughout the coming academic year.

More than half the drivers arrested by Cornell police for DWI in 2000 and 2001 were students, according to Sgt. Charles Howard, who is coordinating the enforcement effort. In 2000, Cornell police made 24 DWI arrests; 16 were students. Through Aug. 15 of this year, they have made 17 DWI arrests, and 10 of those were students.

While DWI arrests by other Tompkins County law enforcement agencies have gone down during the first seven months of this year, Howard is troubled by the fact that DWI arrests by Cornell police have increased.

"We are waging a concerted effort to make students aware of the dangers of drinking and driving," Howard said. "Our involvement in the "You Drink & Drive. You Lose" campaign, which calls for increased use of sobriety checkpoints and random DWI saturation patrols, has the goal of decreasing the number of young lives at risk."

In addition to increased checks on drivers, Cornell police also will present workshops on alcohol awareness throughout the year to student groups.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for young people aged 15 to 20, with more than 16,000 Americans killed in alcohol-related crashes each year. Alcohol is a factor in 12 per cent of car crashes in New York state.

The "You Drink & Drive. You Lose" campaign was initiated in 1999 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as an effort to reduce the number of impaired driving deaths to no more than 11,000 nationwide by 2005. Cornell's involvement is partially funded by the Tompkins County Stop DWI Program. All Cornell police have received training in DWI detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST).

In New York state, illegal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels are 0.10 percent for intoxicated and 0.06 percent to 0.09 percent for impaired. For persons under 21, it is illegal to have a BAC of 0.02 percent or greater. It also is illegal to drive boats, ATVs and snowmobiles while intoxicated or impaired.