Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, encourages everyone to plan for a safe 2019 Labor Day weekend.
A news release from the patrol says it’s everyone’s responsibility to operate both vehicles and vessels safely and observe all Missouri laws. Incorporating safety into your weekend plan–choosing your route, making sure your equipment is in good working condition, being aware of and following Missouri’s traffic and boating laws, driving your vehicle or vessel courteously and wearing a seat belt or a life jacket–helps ensure a safer Labor Day weekend for everyone.
The patrol will be participating in Operation C.A.R.E. (Crash Awareness & Reduction Effort) over the Labor Day holiday weekend. Speed, inattention and impaired driving are leading causes of traffic crashes. Thus, all available troopers will be patrolling Missouri’s roadways enforcing Missouri’s speed-limit, seat-belt and impaired-driving laws, in addition to being available to assist motorists.
In Missouri, 11 people died and 470 were injured in 1,048 traffic crashes over the 2018 Labor Day holiday. That means one person was killed or injured every 9.7 minutes. Troopers worked 257 traffic crashes, which included 119 injuries and seven of the fatalities. Troopers arrested 113 people for driving while intoxicated.
The 2019 counting period for the Labor Day holiday will be from 6 p.m. Friday, August 30, through 11:59 p.m. Monday, September 2.