More law enforcement out on the road this holiday weekend

Trooper Andrew Armstrong has patrolled the roads in Callaway County for 15 years. With that 15 years experience, he said there is one part of the job he wished didn’t exist.

“The absolute worst part of my job is knocking on somebody’s door and telling them their loved one has been killed in a crash,” he said. “I’d rather do anything in this job than that.”

So Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers will be out in full force this holiday weekend keeping an eye out for aggressive or reckless driving to prevent people from having to hear that devastating news.

“Those dangerous acts become more dangerous because there’s more people there and so we’re just trying to get people to understand that with more vehicles on the road, you have to drive safer,” Armstrong said. “Pay more attention and slow down because getting there is the important thing.”

He said troopers aren’t out looking to give everyone a ticket, but they will pull someone over even if it’s just to issue a warning.

“We want to make contact with the people that are driving unsafe and try to change what they’re doing so that the roads are safer,” Armstrong said. “A lot of times a warning will suffice to change behavior in situations a ticket is needed but we’re just trying to get people to obey the traffic laws and be safe.”