South Dakota Highway Patrol to Get Motorcycles
Watch out drunk drivers and would be speeders, South Dakota is going to have their very own versions of Ponch and Jon cruising state highways.
Soon the state will have "CHIPS", or in South Dakota they'd probably be called "SHIPS" or just plain SDHP?
Whatever acronym we decide to give them, for the first time in 30 years, state troopers will be policing South Dakota highways on motorcycles in search of violations.
The state unveiled three new 2015 Harley Davidson motorcycles at the state Capitol on Friday. The motorcycles will be assigned to Pierre, Rapid City and Sioux Falls and used throughout the state primarily for DUI enforcement.
As a matter of fact, a federal grant intended to aid DUI enforcement helped fund the new bikes.
According to Colonel Craig Price, superintendent of the state Highway Patrol, troopers on motorcycles are able to respond to calls faster because they can more easily maneuver through traffic.
Six troopers recently underwent two weeks of motorcycle training at the Wisconsin State Patrol Academy.
If you plan on heading to the 75th Annual 2015 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally this August, you'll get to see the new South Dakota Highway Patrol motorcycles in action, and if you're breaking the law on South Dakota highways, maybe a little sooner.
Source: KOTA