With Memorial Day coming up, it signals the start of the summer driving season.

Driving the roads of South Dakota in the summer sun is different than making our way through the snow drifts and cold, but there can still be dangers. 

South Dakota’s Department of Public Safety is encouraging travelers to get this summer off to a safe start. Nice weather and vacation time means there will be more drivers on the road.

“Everybody, it seems, has travel destinations during the summer,” Lee Axdahl director of the state Office of Highway Safety said in a press release. “But, we don’t want the roadway safety details to get lost in the excitement of planning a trip!”

In order to encourage getting the summer of to a safe start, the South Dakota Highway Patrol is conducting a joint I-90 safety operation with the Minnesota State Patrol for a 23-hour period that starts Friday morning (May 26) and ends early Saturday (May 27). Troopers will be making sure drivers are doing all the usual saftey stuff.

“Slow down, watch for others, don’t get distracted and wear seatbelts,” Coronal Craig Price, superintendent of the South Dakota Highway Patrol, said. “Always take care of yourself and those in your vehicle.”

Last year there weren't any fatalities over the Memorial Day weekend, but out of 26 people injured in accidents 10 weren't wearing seatbelts.


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