State Highway Patrol works to help keep drivers safe during holiday season

Published 7:27 pm Sunday, December 20, 2020

: Screenshot from SHP Christmas PSA

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With the holiday season in full swing, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol is looking to help curb the unexpected increase in fatal collisions experienced in 2020, according to a press release. The anticipated increase in vehicle traffic over the coming weeks will require all across North Carolina to practice safe driving habits on the state’s roadways.

Prior to deciding whether or not to travel, the SHP strongly encourages the public to visit the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) website to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Best practices during the holiday season and information on current state response to the coronavirus can be found at https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/.

Last year, troopers responded to 2,970 collisions between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2. Among those collisions, 745 were injury-related and 27 resulted in a fatality. This year, the SHP hopes to decrease the number of collisions during the same timeframe by focusing on violations such as excessive speeding, reckless driving, following too close and impaired driving.

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“This time of year brings about so much joy for many living in our great state,” said Colonel Glenn McNeill Jr., commander of the State Highway Patrol. “We must pause though, and recognize that there are others who feel grief from a lost loved one due to a traffic collision and this fact drives our agency to work even harder to stop these needless occurrences from taking place.”

Among enforcement efforts is the ongoing 2020 Holiday Booze It & Lose It Campaign, which began Monday, December 14, 2020 and runs through Sunday, January 3, 2021. “This important enforcement campaign organized by the Governors Highway Safety Program brings together law enforcement partners from across our state,” stated the release.

For educational efforts, SHP has taken to a lighthearted approach to sharing safe holiday driving tips with the release of a Christmas PSA, which can be viewed below or at the following link: https://youtu.be/o_GyBGBDKLU.