You’ll notice extra Missouri state troopers on the highways during this 2018 Memorial Day weekend.
A Missouri state trooper on the Lake of the Ozarks in August 2017 (file photo courtesy of the Missouri State Highway Patrol}
Every available trooper will be on the road enforcing traffic laws and helping motorists.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Lt. Paul Reinsch says the Patrol is participating in Operation C.A.R.E., which stands for crash awareness reduction effort.
“We’re trying to get as many troopers that are available out on the roadways, not only to look at aggressive driving and other violations but we want our officers to be out there to help the stranded motorists as well,” Reinsch says.
The Friday before Memorial Day is traditionally one of the busiest travel days of the year in Missouri, as people head to lakes and other Memorial Day holiday destinations.
Reinsch says troopers are being stationed at 20-mile intervals Friday along Interstates 29, 44, 55 and 70, as well as Highways 60 and 61.
“We’re going to be promoting safety by looking for those aggressive drivers, particularly speeding, maybe aggressive passing and things of that nature,” says Reinsch. “And we’re just wanting to make the roadways as safe as possible.”
During Missouri’s 2017 Memorial Day weekend, nine people died and 496 were injured in 1,122 traffic crashes.
Reinsch tells Missourinet that troopers made 107 DWI arrests during the 2017 Memorial Day weekend.
He encourages you to call *55 on your cell phone, if you see impaired drivers or aggressive driving.
Meantime, Missouri state troopers will also be on the state’s lakes and waterways during this Memorial Day weekend, which is the unofficial start to the boating season.
Reinsch notes state law requires children under the age of seven to wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved flotation device anytime they’re in a boat.
“Again, it’s not only important for those children it’s important for adults, and as we learned last weekend with the tragic loss of life at the Lake of the Ozarks, it’s extremely important to wear one,” Reinsch says.
Lieutenant Reinsch says three people died and two others were seriously injured in last weekend’s boating crash, when a boat crashed into a rock bluff.
Reinsch tells Missourinet that deadly incident is still under investigation.
During Missouri’s 2017 Memorial Day weekend, one person died and seven were injured in 15 boating crashes.
Click here to listen to Missourinet news director Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Missouri State Highway Patrol Lieutenant Paul Reinsch, which was recorded on May 24, 2018:
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