Inform, Entertain, Inspire
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Police increase traffic patrols, sobriety checkpoints through Labor Day with federal money

The right side and rear of a generic police car. The car is mostly white, with a long blue stripe above and then mixed with a black stripe along the side of the vehicle. In the stripe at the rear of the vehicle are the words "Dial 911" and in the center of the vehicle is the word "Police" in blue, next to a police star.
FILE PHOTO: Justin Hicks
/
IPB News
Increased traffic enforcement efforts – centered around the Labor Day holiday – are made possible by federal dollars through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Nationally, the first three months of 2022 saw more people die in motor vehicle crashes than any first quarter over the last 20 years.

State and local police across Indiana will conduct more traffic patrols and sobriety checkpoints through Labor Day.

The increased enforcement efforts – centered around the holiday – are made possible by federal dollars through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Traffic fatalities are up more than 20 percent in Indiana for the first few months of this year compared to 2021. And drunk driving is the major factor in about a quarter of fatal collisions.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.