Increased holiday travel means increased ISP patrols

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - Indiana State Police says they’ll increase their patrols during the holiday week to cut down on dangerous drivers.

According to Trip Advisor, nearly 45% of Americans are planning to travel during the holiday week. That means an increase in the number of cars on the roadways which can lead to accidents. That’s why Indiana State Police will post troopers on extra patrols during the six-day Christmas period.

“We’re going to work very very hard during this holiday period to help ensure the highways are as safe as possible," ISP Sergeant Todd Ringle said.

Sgt. Ringle says every holiday season they see the same things: drunk, dazed, and distracted drivers; going too fast or not paying attention.

“When you’re traveling at 90 or even 100 miles an hour what are you going to do if you have a flat tire or if a deer jumps out in front of you or if you fall asleep," Sgt. Ringle asked. "You know any time you have a crash at 90+ miles an hour a lot of bad things are going to happen.”

According to ISP, this time last year, troopers responded to 2,900 crashes statewide: 591 people were hurt and 14 were killed. Sgt. Ringle says locally his department saw 133 crashes, 27 injuries, and no fatalities. He said that number is good but belives the 133 is still too high.

“This is why we take traffic enforcement very very seriously," Sgt. Ringle said. “Over the next several days we will be able to put more troopers on the highways to look for those dangerous and impaired drivers. You know we’re very fortunate to have the opportunity to work several different projects that are federally funded so by doing that we will be able to put more troopers on the highways almost every single day over the next week.”

According to Trip Advisor, about 41% of travelers will be going over 1,000 miles away from home for the holidays.

Copyright 2019 WFIE. All rights reserved.