Travel safety tips ahead of Memorial Day weekend

SOUTHEAST Mo. (KFVS) - Memorial Day weekend is right around the corner, and law enforcement agencies across the Heartland are urging you to stay safe.

The holiday travel weekend officially begins at 6 p.m. on Friday and runs through Memorial Day.

Whether you’re traveling by car, or enjoying the day on the water, officials hope you make safety a top priority. That means every available trooper with the Missouri State Highway Patrol will work this weekend to enforce the rules of the road and the lakes.

Sgt. Clark Parrott with the Missouri State Highway Patrol said travelers should consider taking their vehicle to a mechanic to make sure it’s ready for the road.

He also said if your Memorial Day celebration includes alcohol, you should plan on having a sober driver.

“Make sure you’ve got a safe, sober, designated driver,” he said. “And make sure that they know that they’re the designated driver for this weekend. We don’t want anyone to remember Memorial Day weekend as the time that they had to plan a funeral.”

In 2022, more than 1,000 crashes happened on Missouri roads during the holiday weekend. 13 people died and around 500 others were injured.

Copyright 2023 KFVS. All rights reserved.