(MSC News)--The latest special traffic enforcement campaign, spearheaded by the Kansas Highway Patrol, will continue through the Labor Day Weekend, wrapping up at the close of the holiday. “If you drink, you drive, you lose. So, let's put the sober people behind the wheel and everybody have a safe holiday weekend.”
That's Patrol Trooper Don Hughes, who says the program is supported by a grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation, funded through federal dollars, which pays the overtime of officers to keep roadways safe. “During the 2013 Labor Day holiday weekend, there were 378 crashes statewide, worked by all different law enforcement agencies, not just the Highway Patrol,” Hughes tells MSC News. “Of those 378 crashes, five people were killed in these crashes and 154 injured and 29 of these were alcohol related. We'd really like to reduce those numbers this year.”
Partnering with the patrol are local law enforcement agencies across the state. That includes local city and county agencies, such as the City of Horton, where John Calhoon serves as Police Chief. “Our goal is to reduce injuries and fatalities,” Calhoon says. “We particularly want to focus on wearing seatbelts. We're also going to be looking for other violations for texting while driving, etc.”
Calhoon says the intent of the campaign is not to actually have to stop motorists. Instead, he says the idea is to make drivers alert of the extra law enforcement presence so they voluntarily get behind the wheel sober and drive safely without distractions.
© Many Signals Communications
MOST VIEWED STORIES
Holton man killed in Jackson Co crash
Morrill pair arrested on drug, child endangerment charges
Falls City man sentenced to Federal Prison
Ground Broken for new Sac and Fox Trad'n Post
Jackson Co traffic stop leads to arrest
Local residents avoid injury in chain reaction crash
90 mph+ downburst winds blamed for Thursday damage
One held for past Atchison shooting
Inmate dies at Lansing Correctional Facility
Wamego man sentenced in second fentanyl-related death
Early Thursday storms leave damage, outages, locally
Stolen trailer, 4-wheeler, recovered in Atchison
Mayetta pair arrested on meth, child endangerment charges
Mound City Mayor Duane Nauman remembered
Horton City Clerk's resignation accepted Monday
Brown Co Planning Commission established
KS' LaTurner will not seek another term
LATEST STORIES
Horton City Clerk's resignation accepted Monday
Atchison Co's Oswald named honorary bailiff for KS Court
Juveniles face charges following Atchison break-in
Richardson County accepted into managed call handling program
No injuries in early Sunday morning house fire in Falls City
Sabetha annual citywide cleanup Wednesday
Mayetta pair arrested on meth, child endangerment charges
Local residents avoid injury in chain reaction crash