Thanksgiving 2016 Drunken Driving Crackdown in Michigan Going On Now

MICHIGAN — More state troopers will be on the road for the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend, historically the second-deadliest holiday for traffic crashes. The Michigan State Police said Monday that motorists will begin seeing more troopers on the road beginning Wednesday.

Thanksgiving Eve is known as the biggest drinking night of the year — someone even defined it as Black Wednesday for the Urban Dictionary — as college kids come home for the holidays and meet up with their high school friends.

Troopers will conduct high-visibility enforcement focused on drunken and impaired driving, seat-belt use, careless driving and speeding as part of the Operation C.A.R.E. (Combined Accident Reduction Effort) paid for with federal traffic safety funds coordinated by the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning. The enforcement effort ends Sunday, Nov. 27.

Last year, 11 people died during the Thanksgiving weekend, including five pedestrians. The year before, in 2014, there were six fatalities, the lowest number in more than 30 years.

‘We want every family to have a safe holiday and to enjoy time together,”Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue, director of the MSP, said in a statement. “We urge you to drive safely this Thanksgiving weekend by wearing a seat belt, designating a sober driver and avoiding distractions like texting or talking on your phone while driving.”

Thanksgiving is the second deadliest holiday in Michigan for traffic crashes. In 2015, there were 11 fatalities, five of which were pedestrians, during the holiday period. In 2014 there were six traffic fatalities during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the lowest number in more than 30 years.

Operation C.A.R.E. is a nationwide initiative aimed at reducing traffic crashes and fatalities on highways across the country. It began in 1977 as a collaborative effort between the MSP and the Indiana State Police. Today Operation C.A.R.E. is one of the nation’s longest running traffic safety initiatives and includes state and highway patrol agencies from all 50 states, as well as some American territories and Canadian provinces.

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