Drivers on area highways will notice an increased Mississippi Highway Patrol presence during the organization’s New Years enforcement period.
The period will last from 6 p.m. Friday to midnight on Monday. MHP Troop G public affairs officer Criss Turnipseed told the SDN troopers would
be staging several checkpoints to reduce the number of drunk or otherwise impaired drivers on the roads.
“We have around 15 enforcement details scheduled throughout the holiday period that will consist of line patrol on our most popular travel corridors in each county and safety checkpoints,” Turnipseed said.
He said the troopers would be most on the lookout for impaired drivers, speeders and seatbelt infractions.
“Those are usually the hot issues for holiday weekends,” Turnipseed said.
Last year, troopers investigated 94 vehicle crashes during the New Year’s period, including four fatalities.
However, in the 2017 MHP Christmas enforcement period, which ran from Dec. 22 to Dec. 25, no fatalities were reported.
“Visibility will be our number one key to deter dangerous driving behavior, followed by enforcement for those who do not heed our traffic laws,” Turnipseed said. “Safety is our number one concern. We would like to extend the fatality-free Christmas holiday period we had throughout ourNew Year’s holiday period as well.”
Troop G is based in Starkville and is tasked with enforcement in Oktibbeha, Clay, Lowndes, Chickasaw, Calhoun, Monroe, Webster and Choctaw Counties.