Texas DPS Ups Enforcement During Holiday Weekend
During the 2015 Fourth of July enforcement period, DPS troopers made 496 DWI arrests and issued 7,211 speeding citations, 1,156 seat belt/child safety seat citations, and 1,007 no insurance citations, in addition to making 268 fugitive arrests and 187 felony arrests.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has increased its traffic enforcement during the July 1-4 holiday weekend as its troopers look for drunk drivers, speeding, seat belt violations, and other traffic violators. "DPS is calling on Texans to help keep our roadways and communities safe by celebrating responsibly and using extra caution during Independence Day festivities," said DPS Director Steven McCraw. "During the holiday weekend, troopers will be on the lookout for impaired and dangerous drivers, and anyone who plans to drink alcohol should also plan to take alternate transportation or designate a sober driver."
During the 2015 Fourth of July enforcement period, DPS troopers made 496 DWI arrests and issued 7,211 speeding citations, 1,156 seat belt/child safety seat citations, and 1,007 no insurance citations, in addition to making 268 fugitive arrests and 187 felony arrests.
DPS announced this week that its personnel inspected 7,795 commercial motor vehicles as part of Roadcheck 2016, a national inspection initiative held annually aimed at enhancing commercial motor vehicle safety. This year's took place June 7-9 and included DPS commercial vehicle enforcement troopers, specially trained highway patrol troopers, and civilian inspectors.
Approximately 22.5 percent (1,751) of the 18-wheelers, buses, and other commercial vehicles inspected were placed out of service for safety violations until appropriate repairs could be made. Issues with brakes and defective vehicle lighting were among the most common infractions that led to out-of-service violations. In addition, drivers were checked for compliance with state and federal laws and 224 drivers were placed out of service. Among the violations were failing to have the proper type of driver license for the vehicle being driven, improper logging of duty time, and driving more than the maximum number of hours.
In all, DPS issued 1,972 citations and more than 20,446 warnings.
Roadcheck is sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.