Motorists should be mindful of their driving this month as law enforcement will have a greater presence on the road.

Iowa State Patrol and local agencies are partnering with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this holiday season to remove impaired drivers from the roads and save lives. ISP District 13 Public Resource Officer Jason Marlow urges residents to plan ahead of festivities and have overnight arrangements or a designated driver, or call a ride service to avoid risking yours and the safety of others on the road. Taylor mentions another large contributor to traffic fatalities in Iowa is lack of seatbelt usage. As of December 13th, the Iowa Department of Transportation states there have been 334 fatalities so far this year, 86 of them involving no seat belt worn, “And that doesn’t mean that every one of those fatality victims would have potentially survived that crash but had they been buckled up at that particular moment, I think we know that we could have at least decreased that overall traffic fatality with the effectiveness and the use of a seatbelt.”

Taylor encourages all drivers and passengers to wear a seatbelt during their holiday travels. The special traffic enforcement period lasts Friday through January 1st. You can hear more from Marlow during a two-part Halcyon House Washington Page at kciiradio.com.