Tri-state troopers focus on ridding roads of impaired drivers

The Iowa State Patrol, Nebraska State Patrol, and South Dakota Highway Patrol joined with numerous other law enforcement divisions across the tri-state area to post meaningful numbers this summer to help rid the roads of dangerous drivers.

The three states netted 78 speed and seatbelt citations, 19 OWI and narcotics arrests, as well as many other citations and 340 written warnings.

The three departments received an award from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau
for the joint effort. Pictured left to right: Commissioner Eugene T. Meyer, Iowa Department of Public Safety;
Capt. Kevin Joffer, South Dakota Highway Patrol; Capt. Brad Rice, Nebraska State Patrol;
Lt. Rick Henderson, Iowa State Patrol; Chief Larry Sauer, GTSB; and Sgts. Jay Smith,
Jim Wissler, and Dave Eral, all of the ISP.

The June 5-6 joint traffic enforcement project, an annual event which began over 20 years ago, focuses on removing intoxicated and impaired drivers from the roadways through saturation projects. The enforcement efforts earned the three departments an award in April from the Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau.

In 2008 Iowa State Patrol District 5, under the leadership of Lt. Rick Henderson, encouraged municipal, county, and state law enforcement agencies to unite in their efforts to reduce traffic crashes that injure and kill several thousand citizens each year. The tri-state projects place emphasis on uniting law enforcement agencies with media resources to get the word out about the initiatives. Iowa’s special emphasis this year included the Move Over Law and seatbelt enforcement.

These projects not only heighten enforcement, but they also enhance community relations, media relations, and interagency law enforcement relations involving three states.

Safe Saturday Projects saw a drastic increase in patrol coverage in Iowa.

Iowa troopers conduct Safe Saturday Projects

The Iowa State Patrol also set a goal this summer to make Saturdays safer across the state.

The idea for Safe Saturday Projects conducted during the month of June was conceived by Col. Patrick Hoye, chief of the ISP. Working in close cooperation with the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, organizers determined that Saturday nights in June had the highest incidence of serious collisions involving alcohol.

The primary of goal of the specialized initiative: to reduce the incidence of serious injury and fatal collisions by aggressively enforcing traffic laws on Saturday nights in June. All sworn personnel participated in the Safe Saturday Project, with the colonel making the first drunk driving arrest on the first night of the detail.

The results of the event were significant. Speed citations issued on Saturdays increased 81.25 percent over 2008, while OWI arrests increased 120 percent over 2008. Total traffic citations on Saturday increased 69.1 percent over last year.

Fatalities statewide were down from 43 in June 2008 to 32 in June 2009, the lowest June fatality total in Iowa in 27 years, according to the GTSB. And only one of those 32 fatalities occurred on a day when the initiatives took place.

The program achieved its goal of showing that highly visible enforcement served as an effective deterrent to unsafe driving, thus reducing the incidence of collisions.

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