(Undated)– Look for an increased presence of law enforcement on the roads from now into next week. Trooper Kevin Krull of the Iowa State Patrol says “Stars, Stripes and Sober Rides” is a joint campaign…
“It is that time of year where we’re going to be out there doing a high visibility project sponsored or put on by the GTSB or the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau. What that boils down to is we just want people to be aware. Troopers are going to be partnering with local law enforcement throughout the state working on high visibility traffic enforcement. It basically breaks down to, we’re going to be stopping a lot of cars.”
Krull says they’ll be focusing on several things…
“That’s the seatbelts, the impaired driving, the distracted driving and then the excessive speeds. Those are the big four as I like to call them.”
He adds the 4th of July period is typically a very deadly time on the roadways. He says eight people lost their lives during that timeframe last year…
“July 2nd through the 6th is going to be the timing for this project. That same time period eight people lost their lives and they had affects on more than eight families because there were friends and families involved with this as well. We just want people to do a little better than we did last year. Let’s get out there and do good by driving around. And if you’re going to be having that celebration, I hope you get the chance to celebrate in some fashion but if that involves alcohol, make sure we have a complete plan in place and that involves getting home safely.”
Year to date, there have been 34 traffic fatalities statewide in Iowa.
