More patrols on New Year’s
Published 10:26 pm Thursday, December 29, 2005
The Christmas holiday weekend turned out to be a quiet one for local law enforcement. That may not be the case this weekend with residents preparing to ring in the new year.
“It is usually a busier weekend,” said Cullman County Sheriff Tyler Roden. “We usually get a lot more calls for service during the New Year’s holiday period than we do during Christmas. Folks are perhaps out a little more.”
Cullman Police Chief Kenny Culpepper said the difference between the holiday periods center on the type of activities local residents participate in.
“Christmas is more family oriented,” Culpepper said. “The parties and the get-togethers usually just involve families and tends to be more quieter. New Year’s usually involves more friends and peers getting together and tend to be more rowdier. That is why DUI is a main concern.”
In anticipation for the busier weekend, local and state law enforcement officers will be out in full force over the next three days to make sure the roadways are as safe as possible for county residents during the holiday.
“We’re going to be increasing our patrols considerably,” Roden said. “We’re going to be performing driver’s license checks at check points in different areas of the county. We’re going to continue to be aggressive in checking for driver’s license violations, insurance violations and seatbelt violations. There will be zero tolerance on drinking while driving or drug violations. We do want people to enjoy the weekend and have a good time. It is our goal to make things as safe as possible for them.”
Cullman Police officers will be patrolling city streets and highways looking for any moving violations that may contribute to traffic accidents, such as speeding, failure to yield, failure to stop for stop sign, following too close, improper lane change, according to Culpepper.
“We’re planning on having additional officers out and have extra patrols,” Culpepper said.
He stressed the need for residents to use a designated driver if they’ve had anything to drink.
“Our biggest fear is that we’re going to have our officers out working a lot of accidents — or worse — (one involving) a fatality,” Culpepper said.
All available troopers will also be on duty throughout the weekend, according to Col. W.M. Coppage, Alabama Department of Public Safety director. He said enforcement plans include increased patrols, along with checkpoints and line patrols.
According to Coppage, troopers will target drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs motorists also to keep their focus on safety during the holidays.
He also encouraged motorists to make sure their vehicles are in good working order before holiday travel, and said troopers would be available to assist motorists.
The Alabama Department of Public Safety estimates 16 people may die in traffic crashes in Alabama during the 78-hour period from 6 p.m. today, through midnight Monday.
Last year, 22 people died during the 78-hour New Year’s travel period, 18 on rural roads and four in urban areas. At least 10 of the deaths involved alcohol, and eight of the crash victims were not using safety belts.