Minnesota State Patrol Officers Encourage Safe Driving during Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day Weekend one of the deadliest on the roads

MOORHEAD, Minn. — In the last five years, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety says that there are more DWI arrests per hour during Labor Day Weekend than St. Patrick’s Day, the Fourth of July, and New Year’s Eve.

“With more people traveling out there, there is a potential for more crashes and things like that, and statistically speaking, we do see that along with arrests and things like that throughout the weekend,” said Sgt. Jesse Grabow of the Minnesota State Patrol.

In order to combat the higher likelihood of incidents on the road, Minnesota State Patrol will have more officers on the highways as part of their extra enforcement initiative.

“When we have these kinds of enforcement campaigns and even these holiday weekends, our goal is not really the number of tickets we write or arrests we make, it’s about trying to prevent that very thing. If you’re going to go out and celebrate, great; just be smart about it and make sure you have that plan to get home safely,” said Sgt. Grabow.

A lot of incidents that occur during Labor Day weekend happen on rural roads.

“That’s especially dangerous because you can’t get the emergency responders quick enough to you either, so if you are involved in a crash, it may go beyond the amount of time you need for a first responder to help get you to safety,” said Gene LoDoucer of AAA North Dakota.

With the current extra enforcement period wrapping up after this weekend, Sgt. Grabow says he hopes drivers continue to stay safe.

“When we look at these crashes we have on an annual basis, hundreds of fatalities happen on our roadways here in Minnesota, and it doesn’t need to be that way if we just change our driving behavior and if we make smart choices every time we get in a vehicle,” said Sgt. Grabow.

Grabow also is reminding drivers to move one full lane over on the highways when stopped emergency vehicles have their lights flashing.

The law was passed in honor of the late Corporal Ted Foss, who was killed by a passing vehicle on this date sixteen years ago.

You could face a fine in excess of $100.