Troopers beef up enforcement

MAT-SU -- If it seems like more Alaska State Troopers than usual are on the highways this weekend, it's because there are more.

A federally funded overtime grant administered by the Alaska Highway Safety Office is paying for additional troopers to patrol the roads.

They will emphasize safety belt use by issuing tickets, not warnings, for all violations. Driving while intoxicated laws will get special attention, too, according to AST Director Julia Grimes.

They'll also be looking for speeders, violations of impeding laws, as well as general unsafe driving.

Troopers on water patrols will step up enforcement of boating laws, including use of personal flotation devices by all children under age 13. Grimes said they will make special effort to enforce sober boating laws.

Trooper Sgt. Rod Johnson of Talkeetna said the overtime grant allows 25 extra hours of patrol time from his post during the holiday period. Temporary duty officers will augment his regular troopers.

It's a particularly heavy driving time, Johnson said, because of the Alaska State Fair in Palmer and hunting season. Traffic to and from stores for school supplies, plus college students heading back to campus, add to the volume.

"We have people going in a lot of different directions," Johnson said. "It's the last big one for the summer."

Labor Day is the fourth weekend of the year in which Operation CARE, the Combined Accident Reduction Effort, monitors traffic violations nationwide in an effort to reduce motor-vehicle collisions and fatalities.

In Alaska, the program recorded 10 driving while intoxicated arrests, 647 speeding citations and warnings, and 135 safety belt and child restraint tickets or warnings during the 2002 Labor Day weekend. There were nine highway collisions but no fatalities.

The same period in 2001 resulted in seven DWI arrests, 213 speeding citations, and 38 safety belt and child restraint tickets or warnings, according to Operation CARE statistics. There were 13 highway collisions and no fatalities.

"The Labor Day weekend is a traditionally high volume traffic weekend with fairs, carnivals, derbies and other special events across the state," Grimes said in a news release. "When you're on the road for a trip across town or down the road, or on the water, I urge you to remember safety first."

In addition to additional Labor Day weekend patrols, troopers are continuing their "Click it or Ticket" campaign to enforce seat belt use. Extra patrols in marked and unmarked cars began Aug. 22 on the Seward Highway and will continue through Sept. 7.

Troopers emphasized that speeders on the Seward Highway will be cited, not warned, during the period.