Police and anti-distracted driving advocates are gearing up for a Thanksgiving weekend that typically ends with dozens of arrests, especially after what has become known as “blackout Wednesday” – one of the biggest drinking nights of the year.

News 12’s Shari Einhorn was behind the wheel Tuesday on the Nassau County Police Department’s emergency vehicle operations course. She was told to deliberately text and drive at 45 to 50 mph. She wasn’t able to do so, calling it “nerve-wracking and impossible.”

Marge Lee, an anti-DWI advocate, says good people often make “stupid choices and somebody pays.”

“People are going to wake up tomorrow morning and not one of them thinks ‘I'm going out to kill someone today.’ But some of them will.  And there will be nothing accidental about it. These aren't accidents,” says Lee.

Nationwide, AAA estimates 48 million people will be on the roads this weekend. Nassau and Suffolk county authorities say they will have DWI checkpoints set up. 

Last year in Nassau, police say 65 drivers were arrested over Thanksgiving weekend.