11/17/10 The Indiana State Police will be stepping up patrols for the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday period. Last year during the Thanksgiving holiday period, two people were killed in traffic crashes on Hoosier roadways. In both cases, the victims were not wearing seatbelts and one fatality was alcohol related. The current blitz will run through Sunday, November 28. The Indiana State Police will also be participating in Operation Pull Over (OPO) Safe Family Travel Blitz. During the Safe Family Travel Blitz troopers will be focusing their enforcement efforts on restraint usage and impaired drivers.
Though overall seat belt use is up nationwide, many people make the deadly choice of not buckling up. Studies from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have consistently shown that wearing a seat belt increases one’s chances of surviving a crash by more than 50 percent. The National average for seatbelt use is 85%. In Indiana, 92.4% of vehicle occupants use seat belts.
In addition to Safe Family Travel, state police will also be participating in Operation C.A.R.E. (Combined Accident Reduction Effort) which will run from Wednesday, November 24 through Sunday, November 28. During Operation C.A.R.E. troopers will be focusing their enforcement efforts on crash causation factors such as speeding, unsafe lane movement, following too closely, and other aggressive driving behavior as well as restraint violations and impaired driving. Both OPO and C.A.R.E. are federally funded traffic safety initiatives. Below are a few tips that will make your holiday travel safer.
- If you are planning to travel make sure you are well rested, a fatigued driver is a dangerous driver.
- Avoid tailgating; remember the two-second rule.
- Make sure everyone is buckled up.
- Put down the electronic devices and drive.
- DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE
- MOVE OVER and SLOW DOWN for emergency and highway service vehicles.
