If you think are seeing quite a few South Dakota Highway Patrol officers on the roads today, you are correct!  The South Dakota Highway Patrol will be out in full force Friday, May 23rd, 2014, to encourage travelers to make safe and responsible decisions on the highways.

With more people on the roadways because of the long Memorial Day holiday weekend, it's important to remember to use safe driving practices.   And by being able to see the troopers, it is just another reminder to be safe.  'Operation Safe Summer Kickoff' is the high-visibility effort is to remind travelers to 'Drive To Save Lives'.  It is part of a year-long campaign to reduce highway fatalities across the United States in 2014.

Superintendent of the Highway Patrol, Colonel Craig Price says,

Our presence on the highways is one more way to remind motorists to use common sense out there.  Changing driving habits sometimes requires frequent reminders through such efforts as this saturation patrol.

During today's saturation patrol, troopers are focusing on discouraging and arresting drunk drivers and enforcing seat belt use.  They are also enforcing other traffic laws like speeding, stop sign and passing zone violations and failure to abide by the requirements of the move over law.

With the goal of raising awareness of laws and encouraging drivers to make good and safe decisions, troopers would like travelers to know that they will be making arrests if needed, but the main goal is just to educate the drivers on what is usually considered the beginning of the busy summer travel season on South Dakota roads.

 

 

 

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