Tim O'Brien is reporting in the Times Union the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police has called for Uber, Lyft and similar applications to be approved for upstate New York in an effort to reduce drunken driving. Cheektowaga Police Chief David Zack wrote a letter Mon., Dec. 5, to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, citing statistics on impaired driving and highway fatalities. He said Uber and other ride-share businesses could help reduce those numbers. "It's a relatively simple, painless solution," Zack said in an interview with the paper. Zack said communities located upstate need ride-sharing more than New York City, where those services can legally operate. Upstate New York accounts for 51 percent of the all licensed drivers in New York state, but 65 percent of all arrests for impaired or drunken driving. Read the full story in the Times Union.