LSP launches ‘Operation Zero Deaths for the Holidays’

GRAY, La. (WAFB) – Troopers with Louisiana State Police introduced Monday, Nov. 28 the launch of ‘Operation Zero Deaths for the Holidays.’ Authorities say the marketing campaign is an effort to cease aggressive and impaired drivers earlier than they will trigger damage or hurt to themselves or to others throughout the holidays.

The next data is from Louisiana State Police:

In an effort to fight harmful driving in South Louisiana this vacation season, Louisiana State Police Troop C will improve impaired, aggressive, and distracted driving enforcement patrols all through our troop space from November 23, 2022, to January 2, 2023. The mission of Operation Zero Deaths for the Holidays will likely be to detect and arrest impaired drivers and cease aggressive or distracted drivers earlier than they will trigger damage or dying to themselves or others.

The top-of-year vacation season usually ends in a rise in impaired, aggressive, and distracted driving-related crashes. Final 12 months throughout the 2021 vacation season between Thanksgiving and New 12 months’s Eve, 94 folks had been killed and 4,600 had been injured from crashes on Louisiana roadways. Of these fatalities, 11 occurred within the Troop C space. By growing focused enforcement in areas which are vulnerable to crashes, our purpose is to cut back the variety of accidents and deaths usually skilled on our highways throughout this time of the 12 months. Elevated enforcement along with our common enforcement will likely be seen on:

• LA Freeway 70 and LA Hwy 308 in Assumption Parish
• LA Freeway 3127 in St. John the Baptist and St. James Parishes
• U.S. Freeway 90 and LA Freeway 308 in Central Lafourche Parish
• LA Freeway 1 in South Lafourche Parish
• U.S. Freeway 90 in Terrebonne Parish

As we strategy the vacation season, motorists are reminded of the significance of planning forward and designating a sober driver earlier than going to anywhere the place alcohol will likely be consumed. Alcohol, pharmaceuticals, and different medicine have many results on the physique. These substances can impair visible capability, alter the sense of time and area, impair superb motor expertise wanted to function a motorized vehicle, and reduce response instances. For those who really feel totally different, you drive in a different way. Passengers must also by no means get right into a automobile with an impaired driver.

Aggressive driving habits, comparable to rushing and distracted driving, are among the many main causes of freeway crashes. Dashing and driver distractions can cut back a driver’s capability to react to a roadway hazard and lengthen the gap essential to cease a automobile. Distracted driving can take many varieties, however all stay extraordinarily harmful to everybody on our roads.

Captain Lanny Bergeron, Troop C Commander, stated the next, “Daily, Troopers witness preventable crashes that result in lifelong penalties. Final 12 months, our space suffered important losses, lots of which had been younger lives, as a consequence of poor decisions made behind the wheel of a automobile. As we encounter this 12 months’s vacation season, these households will likely be experiencing the heartache of loss once more. Our purpose is to hopefully stop one other household from having to expertise that ache by growing our enforcement efforts. As you journey this vacation interval, we ask on your assist additionally in making Louisiana’s roadways secure by not driving impaired, distracted, or aggressive.”

Motorists who witness an impaired or reckless driver are inspired to name *LSP (*577) and report that exercise to the closest Louisiana State Police troop location.

Troop C has investigated 44 deadly crashes leading to 49 deaths in 2022.

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