Operation Nighthawk: Significant police presence this weekend will target impaired drivers

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — More than 100 state police troopers and municipal police officers will soon swarm the area to try to help stop impaired driving.

State Police Troop M, which covers Bucks, Lehigh and Northampton counties, will hold Operation Nighthawk this year.

The initiative will combine classroom instruction and workshops on DUI case law and drugged driving, with roving DUI patrols in collaboration with municipal officers, according to a release.

The DUI enforcement initiative will take place this weekend, with more than 100 state troopers and municipal officers participating.

The state police release describes the operation as "a specialized and unique two-day training and enforcement program that has proven highly successful at reducing impaired driving."

It said there will a "significant number" of roving vehicles on local roads as part of enforcement efforts.

A legacy program

Troop M was selected as host for Operation Nighthawk for Area IV (Troop L, Troop K, Troop M and Troop J) this year, according to Public Information Officer Trooper Nathan Branosky.

In 2022, data shows that Troop M made 24 DUI arrests during Operation Nighthawk. It also wrote 98 citations and issued 214 warnings, among other actions.

Marking the 20th year of program, every troop in the state police participated, Branosky said.

Comparatively, statewide totals showed that campaign netted 492 DUI arrests. Police also wrote 2,219 citations and issued 4,015 warnings.

"Over the past 20 years, Operation Nighthawk has been extremely successful at getting impaired drivers off the roads," Col. Robert Evanchick, former commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police, said in the 2022 release.

"We are grateful to our municipal and regional police partners who share our zero-tolerance approach to this serious crime."

In that release, police reminded motorists that DUI convictions can result in fines starting at $300, plus court costs for first offenses of general impairment.

"Penalties increase for repeat offenses and higher levels of impairment, up to a maximum fine of $10,000 plus prison time and a license suspension," the release said.

Impaired driving in the Lehigh Valley

Impaired driving is among the most persistent threats to road safety in the Lehigh Valley, two of the region's top prosecutors recently told LehighValleyNews.com.

Almost 200 people were killed in impaired-driving crashes in the region from 2014 to 2023, according to the state Transportation Department.

Lehigh County recorded about 1,750 impaired-driving cases in 2024, a rise of almost 42% over the past five years, according to county statistics.

Northampton County had 756 impaired-driving cases in 2024, the same number it processed in 2020.

But cases were significantly higher in the three years between, peaking at 992 in 2022, county statistics show.

Heavily drunken drivers are getting behind the wheel more often, Northampton County Deputy District Attorney Joseph Lupackino said.

Third-tier offenses, in which a driver has a blood alcohol level of 0.16 of a percent or more — twice the limit at which state law says they're too drunk to drive — are among the more common DUI-related arrests in the county, he said.

The concept of Operation Nighthawk is for police to immediately apply and practice what they've learned in an educational environment.

Prior to the roving patrols, officers may hear impaired-driving case law updates and get refresher training on field sobriety testing.

According to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, or IACP, officers also may hear presentations by victims of impaired driving or impacted families, as well as other stories that underline the importance of their efforts.

Statistical data regarding total enforcement activity numbers for the weekend will be shared by state police, Branosky said.