Troopers add extra patrols during the holiday week

WASILLA — Alaska State Troopers will have extra patrols on the roadways and waterways for the next week.

“There’s more people on the roads because it’s a holiday,” AST Public Information Officer Tim DeSpain said in an interview.

AST will be patrolling predominantly on the roads enforcing traffic laws and responding to service calls while the Alaska Wildlife Troopers will focus their efforts out on lakes, rivers and seas. AST will mostly be on the lookout for unsafe behaviors like aggressive, intoxicated, and distracted driving. The AWT will be on the water, enforcing fishing regulations and putting a special emphasis on proper boat safety laws and operating motor vehicles under the influence.

Anything with a motor, from cars and trucks to boats and all-terrain vehicles mixed with alcohol is a bad combination, DeSpain stressed.

Funding for the increased patrols and overtime hours is provided in part by grant sources distributed through the Alaska Highway Safety Office, according to a recent press release from AST.

DeSpain said that one of the most significant sources for singling out, tracking down and pulling over unsafe driers comes from calls made by the citizens.

“That’s a significant help,” DeSpain said.

He said that anyone who isn’t merely annoyed but truly feels they need to make a report should call 911 immediately.

“The point is to have a fatality free holiday, all it takes is the wrong actions of an individual to shut down a highway,” DeSpain said.

DeSpain pointed some simple yet effective safety tips that can be implemented not just during the week surrounding Independence Day but also year-round. The list includes always drive with your headlights on, regardless of the time of day; take it easy, have a plan in place so you get where you’re going safe; anyone consuming should have a plan in place before the first sip, be it a designated driver, taxi cab or ridesharing service like Uber, or intent to stay the night

“If you’re impaired, it significantly increases the risk of something really bad happening to you or others,” DeSpain said.

Contact Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at Jacob.mann@frontiersman.com.