Traffic accidents and fatalities increase in the summer time, which is why the Highway Patrol is cracking down on motorists for another month or more. It’s called the Heat is On campaign, and it puts extra officers on Missouri’s highways. Lieutenant John Hotz with the Missouri Highway Patrol says officers are taking their desk-work on the road. Hotz says officers are encouraged to write their reports on their laptops while on the side of the road so that they’re visible to motorists, even if they aren’t actively pulling people over.
Hotz says the summer months has people vacationing, headed to the lakes and rivers with boats, and generally just out and about more than other times of the year. That saturation doesn’t end at the state line — several states are participating in the Heat is On campaign throughout the U-S, reminding travelers to obey the speed limit and watch their driving conditions around them.
Missouri’s fatality rate on the highways has been dropping over the past several years … a trend the Patrol says it would like to see continue.
AUDIO: Jessica Machetta reports [Mp3, 1:12 min.][
