State troopers will be patrolling Mississippi roadways, with an extra focus on safety, during the upcoming Labor Day holiday weekend As MPB's Mark Rigsby reports, troopers urge motors to pay attention behind the wheel.
Labor Day weekend is a big traffic enforcement period for state highway patrol. Captain Johnny Poulos says troopers will have safety check points in place to remove impaired drivers from the road. He says distracted driving is now a bigger problem than drunk driving.
"That is becoming more and more of an issue for us. dealing with crashes and loss of life. Here again, with this busy weekend that we're expecting, we're really asking motorist to keep that in mind, to avoid the distractions and just focus on the roadway."
As for the weather, the remnants of Hurricane Harvey have moved towards the northeast. John Moore is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson. He says you may experience some wet weather if you're traveling in that direction, but the forecast in Mississippi looks good.
"We're looking at very little rain chances for Mississippi throughout most of the holiday weekend. We'll have temperatures below normal. So, that will be awesome too. Looks like a very nice weather weekend in Mississippi, if you're staying local."
No matter where you're heading, Captain Poulos says drivers should be reminded everyone traveling in a car should buckle up. A new state law that went into affect this summer now requires passengers in the back seat to wear seat belts as well.
