That chase and the death of an officer highlights real and continued dangers of drunk driving.

But, in Broome County, the number of alcohol related accidents has actually declined over the last few decades.

Action News reporter Gabe Osterhout tells us the effort to STOP DWI is constant.

In Broome County there are fewer drunk driving related incidents on the road now, then in years past.

"Our personal injury crashes have gone down dramatically. The number of people, bottom line, the number of people getting hurt in these crashes and killed in these crashes have decreased dramatically," says Jim May of the Broome County Stop DWI program.

Since the 1980's, the number of people hurt in DWI crashes has fallen from 376 to about a 100 a year.

But, number of DWI arrests each year has remained steady at around 800.

Still, New York State Troopers do see a difference.

"Legitimately, there are fewer people drinking and driving even though the statistics might show its kind of leveled off at the end of the year. The total number, but that's the number of arrests made. I would say all in all, the number of people out drinking and driving has decreased," says Sgt. Daniel Guilfoyle of the New York State Police.

Even with that decrease, combating drinking and driving is still a major effort.

Troopers point to the new generation of drivers on the road.

Plus, there are always people who don't think they are impaired when getting behind the wheel.

"Even a couple of drinks is going to slow down your reaction time or you can get distracted more easily and I mean you're taking a huge chance of hurting yourself or somebody else," Guilfoyle says.

State Police have stepped up enforcement by looking more carefully for drunk drivers and with more check points.

Still, Sergeant Guilfoyle says most DWI arrests are the result of traffic stops for speeding or running a red light.

25% of drunk drivers are caught because of a crash.

In Binghamton, Gabe Osterhout, WBNG-TV Action News.

According to the Stop DWI program, there are about 45-thousand DWI convictions in New York State each year.

A DWI conviction can costs between 6-thousand and 8-thousand dollars in fines and legal fees.