(NORTH SIOUX CITY, SD) Labor Day weekend has arrived, and for many people it's the last real weekend of the summer. So if you're out celebrating, the South Dakota Highway Patrol wants you to play it safe.
They will be out all weekend, keeping an eye on drivers, and their goal is to inform people through both traditional and social media, so they can prevent fatal accidents.
"Labor Day, we're out here in force, so that's a big thing we just wanted you to have a safe trip," said State Trooper Jason Husby.
That's because most of South Dakota's fatal accidents come during the summer time,
Trooper Husby says that's probably not what you'd expect.
"Often the road isn't a factor, it's human factors that are creating those crashes. We can control those, we can't control ice, but we can control whether or not you decide to drink and drive or wear your seatbelt things of that nature," he said.
South Dakota Highway Patrol is working with a national campaign called "100 Days of Heat", a time frame that covers Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day, the three summer holidays that have the most accidents.
Husby says they aren't out to get you, they just want to help raise awareness.
"The goal isn't to write seatbelt tickets, or the goal isn't to write speeding tickets, the goal is to reduce injury crashes, fatal crashes, crashes in general and get everybody where they want to go safely," he said.
And he says they're using social media and news outlets to spread the word that they aren't hiding, they're in plain view.
"People see us out, they know we're out, it reduces the chance for them to want to do something that's unsafe, maybe it encourages them to wear a seatbelt when they normally don't, things of that nature," Husby said.
He also says construction zones are everywhere, and drivers need to be aware of their surroundings.
"The traffic pattern is always changing down there, I know I drive down to Sioux City myself, and it changes almost every time we go down there so I would ask people to make sure that they have enough time, that you're paying attention and that you're really watching those speed limits," he said.
Trooper Husby says he will of course have to give out some tickets, but the goal of this weekend is to keep people safe. If you'd like to learn more about the campaign, you can check out the South Dakota Highway Patrol Facebook page.
South Dakota Highway Patrol Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/SDHighwayPatrol
You can contact Reporter, Heather Leigh, at HLeigh@kmeg.com or on facebook at www.facebook.com/heatherleighkmeg
