MHP Set to Intensity Enforcement Efforts Over Memorial Day Holiday Weekend

The Mississippi Highway Patrol is set to intensify enforcement efforts for the 2022 Memorial Day Holiday Travel Period, which will begin at 12 a.m. on Friday and conclude on Monday at midnight.

All available Troopers will be called into service to promote safe travel by utilizing high visibility enforcement efforts.

The Memorial Day Holiday Travel Period coincides with the national “Click-it or Ticket” safety campaign. A particular emphasis will be placed on state occupant restraint laws. The enforcement of speeding, distracted, and impaired driving laws will also be a focus, along with the use of safety checkpoints to reduce crashes through the holiday period.

During the 2021 Memorial Day Holiday Travel Enforcement Period, MHP investigated 104 crashes with three fatalities and made 160 DUI arrests on state and federal highway systems.

There were no fatal wrecks in Lafayette County over the Memorial Day weekend in 2021.

MHP also issued 465 citations for occupant restraint violations during that enforcement period

“The MS Highway Patrol will strictly enforce this Memorial Day holiday period with all areas of the enforcement division working to promote public safety and awareness while minimizing the likelihood of any vehicle accidents,” said Lt. Colonel Malachi Sanders. “Days off are canceled for State Troopers to add an extra layer of visibility and law enforcement presence. We will continue to work with local, state, and federal agencies to achieve an overall objective of a fatality-free Memorial holiday period.”

AAA predicts 39.2 million people — 8 percent more than last year and 92 percent of pre-pandemic levels — will travel over the Memorial Day weekend nationally. Compared with last year’s holiday weekend, AAA expects a 4.6 percent increase in car travel.

Staff report