Missouri Highway Patrol Names Safety Labor Day Weekend’s Top Priority

The official end of summer doesn’t have to result in an injury, or worse yet, someone’s life. Missouri’s travelers are reminded to keep safety a top priority when planning for the upcoming holiday weekend.

Colonel Ron Replogle, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, strongly urges the use of seat belts when traveling in any kind of vehicle and life jackets when on any type of Missouri waterway.

In 2010, 10 people were killed and 515 injured in Missouri over the Labor Day holiday in 1,052 traffic crashes. One person was killed or injured every 8.9 minutes. Of that total, troopers worked 294 traffic crashes, which included 148 injuries and six of the fatalities over the 2010 Labor Day holiday. Troopers arrested 190 people for driving while intoxicated during last year’s holiday weekend.

The 2011 counting period for the Labor Day holiday will be from 6 p.m., Friday, Sept. 2, to 11:59 p.m., Monday, Sept. 5.

Troopers C.A.R.E. Too

To help enforce safety laws, the Highway Patrol will participate in Operation C.A.R.E. (Combined Accident Reduction Effort) over the weekend. All available officers will patrol Missouri’s roadways enforcing Missouri’s speed limit, seat belt and alcohol laws, in addition to being available to assist motorists.

Troopers throughout the state also will participate in a 20-mile trooper operation on Sept. 2 and Sept. 5. This operation will include Interstates 35, 44, 55, and 70, and U.S. Highways 60 and 63. Troopers will be targeting all traffic violations and be especially vigilant of aggressive driving violations. 

Row Your Boat Gently

Replogle reminds the public that the Labor Day holiday is a busy boating weekend as well. Additional officers will be working on the state’s waters to ensure safety. Missouri’s boaters are asked to do their part by remaining alert for other boats and swimmers and being courteous on the water. With more boats on the water, it is even more important to pay attention when operating your vessel.

Last year over the holiday weekend there were two boating fatalities and two drowning deaths in Missouri.

Remember:

• If you choose to drink alcohol, don’t operate a vessel. Alcohol consumption slows reaction time. Pay attention to the boats around you and ask your passengers to assist with this. Evasive maneuvers should be made early and deliberately.
• Check your vessel’s navigation lights before heading out at night, and be sure to have spare bulbs on board. 
• Avoid overloading your boat with too many passengers
• Observe Missouri’s nighttime speed limit of 30 miles per hour on the water.
• Inspect all vessel safety equipment and replace anything that has become worn or broken over the summer.
• Stay alert. While you may have operated your boat safely all summer, do not assume that every boater is as experienced or familiar with safe navigation practices. Allow for an extra margin of error in congested areas and assign passengers to help watch for other boats.
• Wear life jackets. Missouri law requires that children under the age of seven wear an approved flotation device. The Patrol recommends flotation devices for those seven and above, because drowning after unexpectedly falling or being thrown overboard is the leading type of fatality boating crash.
• Designate a captain in advance. If alcohol will be part of your plans, before boarding the boat designate a captain who will not consume alcohol.  
• Don’t forget your boating safety certificate. Those born after Jan. 1, 1984 are required to possess a boating safety certificate while operating vessels on Missouri lakes.

“The Patrol wants everyone to enjoy the last big weekend of summer,” Replogle said. “Don’t become a statistic. Remember to buckle up in your vehicle and wear a life jacket when on or near water. If your celebration includes alcohol, designate someone else to drive, whether you are in your boat or your car.”

Motorists who need assistance or who witness criminal activity while traveling on Missouri’s roadways can contact the nearest Highway Patrol troop headquarters by calling the Patrol Emergency Report Line at (800) 525-5555 or *55 on a cellular phone.