The Thanksgiving holiday will start early for Kansas Highway Patrol troopers.
KHP technical trooper Rick Wingate announced last week that the Kansas Thanksgiving Traffic Enforcement Campaign begins today and runs through Sunday. The campaign is financed through a grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation.
Wingate said that the grant will enable KHP to have more officers on the road to enforce state traffic laws aggressively.
“They will be looking especially for those driving impaired and for children, teens and adults who are not properly restrained,” Wingate said in the announcement.
Neither the Emporia Police Department nor the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office received a grant for holiday traffic enforcement. Holidays, however, naturally bring heightened awareness of impaired driving to the minds of local law enforcement officers.
“We’ll make sure we have maximum coverage for the holiday,” said Lt. John Koelsch of the Emporia Police Department. “For the most part, we’ve got pretty much full crews” from Thanksgiving through the weekend.
Koelsch said that officers would not be surprised if there were an increase in the number of calls for family disputes.
“It’s a big ‘domestic’ holiday,” Koelsch said, explaining that alcohol often is a significant factor in domestic disputes.
Family activities may encourage people to visit homes rather than bars, but alcohol often is a part of the celebration, no matter the location.
Lyon County also has not planned extra enforcement, but expects there will be extra traffic enforcement over the holiday.
“... (T)he holiday frees up some man hours for traffic enforcement that are usually focused elsewhere on weekdays,” said Undersheriff Richard Old.
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs endangers not only the driver, but passengers, other motorists and pedestrians, Wingate said.
“Across Kansas, six persons — most of them innocent — are killed or injured in nine alcohol-related crashes each day,” he said of the state’s average for accidents.
He cited statistics from the Kansas Department of Transportation that show vehicle occupants in alcohol-related crashes are more than two and a half times more likely to be injured or killed than are vehicle occupants in accidents where alcohol is not a factor.
Failing to wear safety restraints also is responsible for needless death and permanent injuries, he said.
“Those who do not buckle up are about 12 times more likely to be killed and almost twice as likely to suffer injury as those who do buckle up,” Wingate said.
Compounding the seriousness of not buckling up, Wingate said, are hidden facts that injuries suffered by people not wearing safety restraints are likely to be far more severe and disabling than injuries suffered by people wearing safety restraints.
“Always wear your seatbelt and don’t move the vehicle until each person riding with you is restrained,” Wingate said. “It is your best defense, it’s their best defense, and it’s the law.”
Wingate also talked about the after-effects for impaired drivers, whether they are involved in accidents or merely arrested for DUI.
“Each week across Kansas nearly 350 drivers are arrested for DUI,” he said.
A DUI conviction results in suspension of the driver’s license and a permanent black mark on the driver’s record. Attorney fees, court costs and fines add to the cost of driving with a blood-alcohol content of .08 or above.
“Keep in mind that if you are going to be drinking — any amount at all — don’t consider driving home,” Wingate said. “Arrange to ride with a non-drinking acquaintance. Don’t let pride or inconvenience endanger your life and the lives of innocent others. ...
“By always following these simple rules, you will preserve life — maybe your own — and certainly your cash.”