Northwest Iowa — Law enforcement officers will be out in force this weekend as the Iowa State Patrol partners with county sheriff’s offices and city police departments across the state in a special 4th of July holiday traffic enforcement effort focused at removing impaired drivers from Iowa roadways.
Iowa State Patrol Trooper Kevin Krull tells us about this special enforcement effort.
(As above) “We’ve got the ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ campaign going on this year. July 3rd through the 7th we’re going to tally the numbers for local law enforcement agencies, as well as the State Patrol, and hopefully gather some information that our numbers are better than they were last year as far as the big ones are concerned. And that would be the crashes. Last year we had 112 crashes, and of those crashes we had two (who) died, and nine serious injuries.”
Trooper Krull says you’ll see a lot of State Patrol vehicles on the roads this weekend, and those troopers will be looking for all kinds of dangerous behavior behind the wheel.
(As above) “We’re going to bring out officers that normally would have been off. They’re going to be working their overtime shifts, we’re going to have extra shifts for those officers to work. We’re going to have some late-night patrols. We’re going to have some speed enforcement going on. We’re going to do our part to step up step up and try to curb those speeds, look for those distracted drivers and put some people who need to be in jail for drunk driving, in a cell for that.”
The trooper asks that you celebrate the 4th of July in a responsible manner.
(As above) “We ask people to celebrate with a plan. We’re not telling them NOT to celebrate, we’re just telling them to celebrate with a plan….get that designated driver, do the right thing and get that safe ride home.”
Since Independence Day falls on a Saturday this year, Friday the 3rd is the legal holiday. Trooper Krull says having the celebration confined to one weekend will make things busier and more dangerous on the road.
(As above) “Some years, when it falls on a Tuesday or Wednesday…the middle of the week…people will pick which weekend they wish to celebrate, the weekend before or the weekend after, and some people are lucky enough to be able to go all week long and put two weekends together. But with it being on a weekend this year, I expect the numbers to be high, and it’s going to be a very, very busy weekend.”
Krull had this final word for those who plan to be on the state’s highways and byways this weekend.
(As above) “Just try to be safe out there. So for everybody that’s going to go out and celebrate the weekend, it’s sounds like the weather’s going to be great, so do your part and celebrate with a plan.”
The ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign runs from July 3rd through 7th. During the same period last year, two people lost their lives on Iowa’s roadways. Let’s all pull together and try to lower that number for this year.
