Alaska State Troopers are ramping up patrols on highways this Fourth of July holiday in an effort to prevent fatal and serious-injury crashes through increased DUI enforcement. Troopers will be focusing on DUI enforcement for both alcohol and drugs. They also will watch for aggressive driving, distracted driving, speeding and people not wearing seatbelts.
Austin McDaniel, Public Information Officer for the Alaska State Troopers told KSRM:
“Our goal as the state troopers this holiday weekend is to have zero fatalities on Alaska’s roads and highways.”
McDaniel says that residents and visitors will see more troopers out:
“Yeah so we’ll have additional Alaska State Troopers on the roads doing these focused patrols as part of the National DUI High Visibility Enforcement Campaign which is a grant issued to the Alaska Highway Safety Office. So we’ll have additional troopers working overtime this holiday weekend making sure that our roadways are safe.”
There’s also a way to report dangerous driving, in the event you encounter someone driving under the influence this weekend:
“With our partners at the Alaska Department of Transportation, as well as our local police partners across the state, we have a Report Every Dangerous Driver Immediately initiative or REDDI as we like to call it. If you see a dangerous or potential drunk driver, give a call to 911, let them know where you are and what you’re seeing and we’ll dispatch available troopers to the area.”
The theme of this year’s holiday enforcement effort is ‘Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving; Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over; Ride Sober or Get Pulled Over; If You Feel Different, You Drive Different.”
Alaska State Troopers remind residents and visitors that traffic fines are doubled in construction zones and safety corridors. Troopers encourage you to practice safe driving behaviors when operating a motor vehicle or watercraft by not driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana or any other substance that can cause impairment or drowsiness.
More information on REDDI can be found here.