There are some things you can almost always count on for Thanksgiving — food, family, football and fighting traffic. When it comes to fighting traffic, you can also be assured that your friends with the Michigan State Police are concerned about your safety, too, and will increase patrols substantially as part of their annual Operation C.A.R.E. — Combined Accident Reduction Effort.
That traffic safety initiative that works to keep an eye on both commercial truck traffic and every day motorists will run from Wednesday, November 23rd through Sunday, November 27th.
Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue is Director of the Michigan State Police. She says, “We want every family to have a safe holiday and to enjoy time together.” She adds, “We urge you to drive safely this Thanksgiving weekend by wearing a seat belt, designating a sober driver and avoiding distractions like texting or talking on your phone while driving.”
Thanksgiving is the second deadliest holiday in Michigan each year for traffic crashes. In 2015, there were 11 fatalities, five of which were pedestrians, during the holiday period. In 2014 there were six traffic fatalities during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the lowest number in more than 30 years.
Beginning Wednesday, troopers across the state will conduct high-visibility enforcement focusing on impaired driving, seat belt use, careless driving and speeding. Extra patrols are paid for with federal traffic safety funds coordinated by the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning.
Enforcement is supported by the Give thanks. Drive safely public awareness campaign that includes a public service announcement available by clicking this link: www.youtube.com/michstatepolice. With the arrival of winter weather, motorists are also encouraged to take extra precautions when driving in snowy and icy conditions and to place an emergency preparedness kit in their vehicles. To learn more about creating a kit, click on this link: www.michigan.gov/miready.
Operation C.A.R.E. is a nationwide initiative aimed at reducing traffic crashes and fatalities on highways across the country. It began in 1977 as a collaborative effort between the MSP and the Indiana State Police. Today Operation C.A.R.E. is one of the nation’s longest running traffic safety initiatives and includes state and highway patrol agencies from all 50 states, as well as some American territories and Canadian provinces.
