DES MOINES – This Memorial Day holiday weekend, the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Iowa State Patrol (ISP) will have increased patrol efforts on Iowa roadways with the main focus on seat belt usage.
Last year during the three-day Memorial Day holiday weekend, two people were killed on Iowa roadways. As of today, 136 fatalities have occurred on Iowa roadways this year, which is up 28 from this time last year. Fifty-one of this year’s fatalities were unbuckled, that’s nearly 50 percent.
Motorists are encouraged, as always, to obey the posted speed limits, wear seatbelts, and obey all laws while traveling. Officers will also be on the lookout for distracted driving and impaired drivers. Together, we can keep Iowa’s roadways safe and save lives.
A similar initiative is also underway in Minnesota.
According to Cerro Gordo Sheriff Kevin Pals, “Texting and driving is a secondary law in Iowa. We have to have another law violation prior to the stop…for instance light out, speeding, failure to stop at stop sign/signal, etc. If we needed the information from the phone we would have to get a search warrant for the information.”
