Christmas is in the rearview mirror, and as the calendar turns to 2025, the Missouri State Highway Patrol will again be enforcing the roads for the two-day New Year’s holiday period. It begins at 6:00 p.m. on New Year’s Eve (Tuesday, December 31), and ends at 11:59 p.m. on New Year’s Day (Wednesday, January 1, 2025).
During the 2023-24 New Year’s enforcement period, nine people were killed and 293 injured in 821 traffic crashes in the Show Me State.
Tips to keep in mind include designating a sober driver, using a ride share service, or taking a taxi to ensure you get home safely.
“The Patrol will be out in force,” Lt. Eric Brown with the Missouri State Highway Patrol recently told Missourinet. “We’ll be working to prevent traffic crashes by educating the public on traffic laws, enforcing all traffic laws, encouraging people to drive the speed limit, to designate a sober driver, things such as that.”
Also, with the new year comes a new state law involving texting while driving. So, put those phones down.
“We’re quickly coming up on a point and time where the education period on the hand-free law will expire and we’ll begin issuing fines for people who are in violation of using their telephone while they’re driving,” Brown explained. “The big thing is it can’t be hand-held anymore. You can’t support it with any portion of your body.”
Also download MoDOT’s Traveler Information app to your smart phone and check road conditions before getting behind the wheel.
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