The South Dakota Highway Patrol will join its counterparts in Minnesota and Wyoming for the annual Joint I-90 Traffic Safety Operation later this week.
The effort covers 23 hours from 5am (CDT) Friday to 4am (CDT) Saturday.
Superintendent of the South Dakota Highway Patrol Col. Craig Price says this is a great partnership between the three states. He says troopers in their respective states will patrol Interstate 90 border to border. Officers also plan to monitor other state and highway roads along with state-line ports of entry to ensure that motorists stay safe.
Col. Price says troopers will promote highway safety through enforcement, with an emphasis on speed, hazardous moving violations, seatbelt use and impaired driving. He says the operation includes use of personnel with police service dogs, drug recognition experts and motor carrier personnel. Laser and radar saturation patrols also will be done.
Col. Price says this is a good time for the joint operation because it is the Memorial Day weekend and the start of the summer travel season. He says people are excited as they travel for vacations and other outings and they want the public to be safe this summer by driving the speed limit, not getting distracted by cell phones, not driving after you have been drinking and by always wearing a seatbelt.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol is part of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.
