ISP to participate in Operation Pull Over
Comet staff report

Troopers from the Indiana State Police Lafayette Post will participate in Operation Pull Over, Blitz #53. This traffic safety blitz is titled "Safe Family Travel, Seat Belts, and DUI."

The enforcement campaign will utilize federal funding to allow additional troopers to work overtime and patrol Indiana roadways during the busy Thanksgiving holiday driving season.

The two-week enforcement effort began Nov. 11 and will conclude Nov. 24. Troopers will utilize marked and unmarked police vehicles as they patrol during this blitz period. Officers will focus enforcement efforts on impaired driving and restraint violations. They will also target aggressive drivers, motorists who exceed the posted speed limit and drivers who follow other vehicles too closely.

According to the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, in 2006, between Thanksgiving and NewYear's, 87 people died on Indiana roadways in alcohol related crashes or in crashes where safety belts were not used. Of those killed in alcohol related crashes, nearly 50 percent were unrestrained.

The Safe Family Travel campaign is sponsored by the Governor's Council on Impaired and Dangerous Driving. Federal funding for the initiative is provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).