ANKENY, Iowa – Feb. 18, 2013 – The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Office of Motor Vehicle Enforcement, in cooperation with the Iowa Department of Public Safety, will increase patrols on the Interstate 35/80 corridor from Altoona through Des Moines to the Mills Civic Parkway exit in West Des Moines on several days over the next three months.
The enforcement effort, called Operation Safe Commute, was developed to reduce crashes along this corridor by encouraging traffic to move at a consistent posted speed.
Iowa DOT’s MVE Chief David Lorenzen, said, “I live in Waukee area and drive this corridor every day. This is a community of commuters – for the most part it is a lot of the same people every day. Some drive the posted speed limit of 65 while others exceed that. Mixing speeds can cause drivers to make rapid adjustments, which can lead to crashes and congestion. We know that to make a change, we need to impact individual driver behavior. We are hopeful that commuters who see a consistent presence of law enforcement in this corridor will evaluate their driving behaviors and develop safer habits.”
Iowa DOT MVE and Iowa DPS staff will determine the Operation Safe Commute schedule based on traffic volume data. Increased enforcement of up to nine marked cars will be patrolling two-mile loops of the corridor during peak travel times of 6:30-8:30 a.m. and 4-6 p.m. on high traffic volume days.
This targeted enforcement effort is just one more way the Iowa DOT and Iowa DPS are working to keep Iowa motorists safe.