Police patrolling holiday traffic

MOBILE, Ala. - Many of you want to get to your July 4th destination as fast as possible. State Troopers want you to get to your destination safely. That's why they're hitting the interstate and the rural roads, this Fourth of July weekend.

Expect to see them any and everywhere. Corporal Joe Piggott said, "We'll be looking out for things like the intoxicated driver, any impairment on the part of the driver. We'll be looking for people speeding, following too close, failure to signal and failure to yield to right away."

Authorities will be doing special enforcement operations such as using the B.A.T. Mobile for sobriety checkpoints and also a Lidar, a laser version of radar for speed enforcement. Officials want remind you to always obey the speed limit.

Piggott added, "A 10 mph increase in your speed in highway speed, will double your chance of being killed or injured in a traffic accident." This year their goal is to reduce fatalities. Piggott said, "Last year during the 78 hour travel period there were 16 people killed in the state of Alabama. Eleven of those were not wearing seat belts and at least three were alcohol related crashes."

There's going to be lots of traffic on the way to the beaches, so make sure you plan ahead. Piggott added, "A good trip starts with successful preparation. Have everything ready ahead of time and leave on time. Travel during earlier hours if you can anticipate delays. Be patient in traffic and courteous to each other."

Troopers said if you see any aggressive drivers or drunk drivers on the road, feel free to call *47 or *HP from your cell phone. That's how you can make a report to any Alabama Patrol Office.