Dateline: August 28, 2003

DPS to step up patrols during holiday weekend

More traffic equals more troopers on the job this Labor Day weekend.

The Texas Department of Public Safety will have all available troopers on the roadways during the upcoming Labor Day weekend targeting speeders, seat belt violators, and drunk drivers.

DPS-along with law enforcement agencies throughout the state-will increase patrols from Friday, August 29, through Monday, September 1, in an effort to cut down on highway deaths and injuries.

Last year, DPS issued 26,577 citations during the Labor Day holiday, which is more than three and a half times the number of a non-holiday weekend. This includes 1,297 alcohol-related citations or arrests.

“Labor Day tends to be a holiday with a large number of DWI fatalities,” said DPS Director Col. Thomas A. Davis, Jr.  

“Because Labor Day is traditionally the last weekend of the summer, more people are out celebrating-creating potentially dangerous situations on our roadways.”

A new state law, effective Sept. 1, makes driving while intoxicated with a passenger younger than 15 a state jail felony, punishable by a maximum of two years in jail and a $10,000 fine.  Another new law will result in a $3,000 surcharge (paid over three years) if an offender is convicted of driving while intoxicated.

“Our job is to make sure the highways are safe for everyone, so drivers who insist on endangering others run a much higher risk of getting a ticket or going to jail this holiday weekend,” said Davis. 

DPS is a participant in Operation CARE-Combined Accident Reduction Effort – a nationwide effort by police agencies to reduce fatalities during holidays.