Troopers step up patrols over holiday weekend

Missouri Highway Patrol is urging drivers to use caution as one of the busiest travel periods of the year pushes into high gear. The safety reminder comes after a dangerous 2013 Labor Day weekend. The state’s interstates and highways saw hundreds of crashes last year.

Highway patrol officials said drivers should expect busy conditions on the roads all holiday weekend. With the extra traffic, officials said they have a plan in place to help keep drivers safe while out on the interstates and highways around the state.

The Highway Patrol is taking part in the “Combined Accident Reduction Effort” or C.A.R.E program. It’s a nationwide program, and all available troopers are out patrolling state roadways.

On Friday and Monday, the busiest travel days this weekend, the highway patrol has a trooper patrolling every 20 miles on Interstates 29, 44, 55, 70 and U.S. Highways 60 and 61.

Officials encourage anyone who sees criminal activity such as drunken driving to call the highway patrol by dialing *55 on your cellphone.