AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine State Police say additional troopers and several special enforcement efforts are planned for the Memorial Day weekend.
The Chief of the State Police, Col. Robert Williams, said extra patrols will be looking for drunk, distracted and aggressive drivers, along with enforcing Maine’s seat belt and child safety seat laws.
Williams said, “Memorial Day weekend sets the tone for the rest of the summer driving season and the State Police goal is to make is a safe one. Troopers will continue their highway safety efforts to reduce fatalities and injuries from crashes throughout the summer.”
The chief said the State Police plane will be augmenting the enforcement efforts on the ground, and Troopers will be concentrating their efforts along the Maine Turnpike, the Interstate, as well as several secondary roads.
State Police, along with 44 other Maine police departments, are sharing $313,403 in federal funds to pay for overtime to enforce the state’s seat belt laws. The Click It or Ticket campaign, coordinated by the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety, runs through June 4 and many of those overtime efforts will take place during the holiday weekend.
So far this year, 46 people have been killed on Maine roads, compared to 48 deaths at this time last year. The past two Memorial Day weekends in Maine were fatality free.
