TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Indiana State Police troopers do not get the Labor Day holiday off. Extra officers will be patrolling Hoosier streets and highways, on the lookout for unsafe drivers.
“Last year during the Labor Day weekend, we had over 1,800 crashes that occurred in the state of Indiana, with 474 personal injury accidents,” Sgt. Matt Ames, ISP Public Information Officer, reported. Additionally, there were 12 deaths.
Though there will be no checkpoints seeking drunk drivers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, troopers will have their eyes out for aggressive, distracted and possibly intoxicated drivers.
“We need voluntary compliance from the public” to drive safely and responsibly, Ames said.
ISP will also be looking for violators of the Hands-Free Driving Law, which went into effect on July 1. Locally, troopers have only been issuing warnings, not citations, to those they have pulled over for the infraction, hoping to decrease the number of drivers using their devices while behind the wheel.
And spreading that word of mouth seems to be succeeding. “We have noticed a decrease in people using communications devices while driving down the roadway,” Ames said. Citations will begin to be issued on Jan. 1, 2021.
Ames noted the only time a driver can consult a device is while stopped at a red light, but the device must be set aside immediately when the light turns green.
The additional holiday patrols were funded by two federal grants.
