A special traffic enforcement effort is underway this Memorial Day weekend called the Crash Awareness and Reduction Effort, or CARE.
Iowa State Patrol Trooper Vince Kurtz says extra officers will be out on the roadways with the main focus on speed and distracted driving.
The DOT reports that 106 people have died in accidents on Iowa roads so far this year. Kurtz says the numbers are nearly the same from last year. He says the total is a relative number because one death on the roadways is too many. Kurtz says you have to look beyond the numbers to see the real impact.
“You go and talk to a family member who has lost a loved one in a crash and ask them how many fatalities are too many in Iowa each year,” Kurtz says, “and their answer is going to be ‘one.’ It’s their family member who no longer is around — that one is too many.” He says the goal for the Iowa State Patrol is to always strive for zero fatalities and he says the extra officers on the roadways should serve as a reminder.
He says they want people to thing about slowing down, buckling up and having a sober ride. Two people died in Memorial Day weekend accidents on Iowa roadways last year.
(By Dennis Morrice, KLEM, Le Mars)