(Spirit Lake)—Expect to see a higher volume of law enforcement officers on the road from now through the Memorial Day holiday period. Vince Kurtz of the Post Six Office of the Iowa State Patrol tells KUOO news the Memorial Day holiday period is typically one of the most heavily traveled periods during the year…(click here for comment.) “Celebrate the sacrifices and to remember the scrafices that those in our military have made and part of that is enjoying the weekend and being able to travel and go where you want to and enjoy that freedom we have here in America. But we want to make sure people are doing it the right way and making sure that they get safely from point A to point B and that’s a big part of what the Iowa State Patrol does.”
Kurtz says the State Patrol and most local agencies, including police and sheriff’s departments, are involved in the “Click It or Ticket” enforcement campaign…(click here for comment.) “Stepping up our efforts in patrol, making sure we have a visibility presence on the roads and part of that is making sure that the public knows that we’re out there and that we’re taking this seriously and to slow down ahead of time, wear your seatbelt, avoid distractions, use your designated driver. Again those are the main areas that we’re looking at. We’re going to be addressing all violations that are out there. So if you do see extra officers out on the road that is why and we are taking it seriously.”
According to statistics from the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, there were 364 fatalities in the state in 2012. Of those, the agency says 167 were not using seat belts.
