Maryland Troopers on the job patrolling the roads this Memorial Day Weekend
Maryland State Police troopers from all 23 barracks and from divisions not normally assigned to road patrol will be involved in targeted traffic safety initiatives through the holiday weekend as part of their continuing effort to reduce speeding and address aggressive and impaired driving on Maryland roads.
The priority of every uniformed state trooper on patrol this weekend will be traffic safety. Additional troopers will all assisting with specific traffic safety initiatives across the state. “Our priority is to do all we can to ensure the safety of each person traveling on Maryland roads throughout this holiday weekend,” Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel Woodrow Jones III said.
“Commanders will be deploying troopers to those areas where speeding complaints are most frequent and where crashes and impaired driving arrests have been the highest. I encourage each driver traveling this weekend to make traffic safety their most important concern when they are behind the wheel. Don’t drive impaired or aggressively. Obey the speed limit and always buckle up.”
With less traffic on the highways, some people are speeding, causing dangerous crashes, and police across Maryland are stepping up enforcement. Traffic volume across Maryland is down about 4%, according to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. The dramatic drop in traffic during the coronavirus pandemic has caused a dangerous surge in excessive speeding, police said. ~ WBAL-TV Baltimore
Troopers will be using laser speed measuring devices, including ten new units purchased by the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division with funding from the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program, coordinated by the MDOT State Highway Administration Motor Carrier Division. Troopers will also be on patrol in unmarked vehicles, looking for drivers exceeding the speed limits and driving aggressively.
Some of the additional troopers will be working overtime, thanks to grant funding for impaired driving and aggressive driving enforcement. This funding comes through the MDOT State Highway Administration and the Maryland Highway Safety Office.
Citizens are reminded they can report dangerous drivers traveling on Maryland interstates by safely dialing #77 on their cell phone and providing the nearest State Police barrack a description of the vehicle, location and direction of travel.
The National Safety Council (NSC) estimates that 366 people may die on U.S. roads this Memorial Day holiday period. Holidays traditionally are a time of travel for families across the United States. Many choose car travel, which has the highest fatality rate of any major form of transportation based on fatalities per passenger mile. Holidays are also often cause for celebrations involving alcohol consumption, a major contributing factor to motor-vehicle crashes.
(Source: Maryland State Police)
Posted by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
