Tonight marks the start of the long Labor Day holiday weekend. Later today, Missouri’s roads will be filling up with travelers trying to take advantage of the unofficial last weekend of the summer. Highway Patrol spokesman Lieutenant Tim Hull says the increased numbers of vehicles on the roads increases the chances for accidents. He says last Labor Day Weekend was particularly bad as 14 people lost their lives and more than 600 were injured in nearly 1,500 accidents statewide. Hull hopes a little preventive medicine will change the outcome this year. Hull says the patrol will be out in full force this weekend, with every available officer pulling a shift at some time. He says the patrol has gotten a little help to fund the overtime that will be spent through a grant from the “You Drink and Drive, You Lose” program.
