DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Iowa State Patrol is heading up a 16-state, I-80/I-35 Border-to-Border traffic safety challenge this weekend.
Starting Friday, August 28 through Sunday, August 30, sixteen state highway patrol agencies, where I-80 and I-35 pass through, will have increased enforcement on the interstates.
The main focus of this special traffic safety challenge will be to reduce the number of fatalities and serious-injury crashes on these roadways by enforcing ALL traffic laws, such as speeding, seatbelt usage and impaired driving.
Interstate 80 is 2,909 miles long from border to border and Interstate 35 is 1,694 miles long, border to border.
August is the deadliest month for motorists on Interstate 80 and one of the deadliest on Interstate 35. The current fatality count in Iowa as of today, Thursday, August 27, 2015 is 203, compared to 193 at this same time last year.
This traffic safety challenge is in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).
The I-80/I-35 Border-to-Border Traffic Safety Challenge coincides with the National Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign.