By Staff
State Troopers helping patrol our highways
We all want to have a happy Thanksgiving – and, for many people, that means traveling to be with family and friends, and sharing traditions.
But, one holiday tradition we don't need is more traffic problems on the roadways throughout the state. This holiday season, Alabama State Troopers will conduct versions of the “Take Back Our Highways” safety campaigns that emphasize sobriety checkpoints and patrols during the seven days before Thanksgiving and again before Christmas.
Local law enforcement agencies such as Atmore, Flomaton, Brewton and East Brewton traditionally focus on impaired driving enforcement during the holidays, and Alabama’s troopers plan to uphold that life-saving tradition. The program began Monday and lasts through Sunday. Extra officers are on patrol throughout the week to keep an eye on drivers.
Alabama state troopers will welcome the holiday season with special campaigns to combat drunken driving in their work to ensure the safety of motorists in Alabama. Troopers will use nine recently acquired BAT-mobiles at DUI checkpoints statewide during the holiday enforcement period. Equipped with breath alcohol testing equipment, the trucks allow for on-scene processing of impaired drivers and also serve as temporary holding facilities. Grant funding for the BAT-mobiles was awarded by Gov. Bob Riley and administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences provided chemical breath-testing equipment for the vehicles.
According to Col. J. Christopher Murphy, the primary goal of troopers is to prevent crashes and save lives. He stated that trooper-reported traffic fatalities were down by about 100 from the same period last year, and troopers are committed to further reducing fatality totals through the holiday safety campaigns.
We hope that everyone will help police themselves and their family members this holiday. Buckle up, obey the speed limits and traffic laws and by all means avoid drinking and driving.
That way, we hope we'll all have a happy and safe Thanksgiving.