 "Photo: Jordan Gomez")
With record levels of traffic congestion expected in Austin over the Thanksgiving holiday, police are cautioning students to be especially careful driving over the long weekend.
About 2.87 million Texans will be on the roads during the holiday, despite gas prices hovering near $3 - averaging 90 cents more than last year, according to AAA. Nationally, 38.7 million people are expected to make commutes farther than 50 miles from their homes.
The holiday season marks one of the more dangerous times for people to be on the road, said Lt. Craig Cannon of the Austin Police Department's highway enforcement command unit. Over the past four years, there has been an average of 10 fatalities and 1,100 injuries related to accidents in Austin during November and December.
In response, Police Chief Art Acevedo has ordered a dramatic increase in the number of officers on the road in Austin. Every single officer in the department will be required to do uniform patrols during the holiday season, no matter their rank. About 300 detectives, 18 commanders and six assistant chiefs will hit the road in uniform over the next two months.
"Some of them haven't written a citation in years," Cannon said. "Everybody was an officer here first. Everyone has a uniform. Everyone has the experience."
Even Acevedo has gone on patrol and assisted in a DWI arrest.
"I don't know if I've ever seen that in my 27 years," Cannon said. "That was different."
State Troopers will also be patrolling in greater numbers over the course of the holiday weekend. All available troopers will be on the road, said Lisa Block, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman.
The increased patrols will be looking for the typical driving and alcohol infractions. About 50 percent of traffic fatalities involve alcohol, Cannon said.
In the past two years, there have been 116 car accident-related deaths in Austin. More than 50 percent occurred on the city's major highways. Nearly a quarter of the total, 27, occurred on Interstate Highway 35. Ben White Boulevard had 11 fatalities, and Research Boulevard had 10. Mopac Boulevard had six. With four fatalities each, Capital of Texas Highway tied with U.S. Highway 290 for the fewest number of fatalities on a major highway in Austin during 2006 and 2007.
Drivers should take extra precautions during the holiday season in order to avoid accidents, Cannon said.
"Take your time," he said. "Plan. Don't speed. You won't get there any faster, but you will take a much higher risk. It's not worth it."
Be the first to comment on this article!