PARKERSBURG - Law enforcement agencies in Ohio and West Virginia will be stepping up patrols Labor Day weekend thanks to grants for high visibility and DUI enforcement.
The number of Americans traveling this holiday weekend is expected to increase nearly 10 percent from 2009, according to AAA.
Wood County Sheriff's Office and Parkersburg Police Department will have a few more officers on the road looking for signs of impaired drivers, speeding and other traffic violations.
Parkersburg Police Department will have up to six extra officers on duty each day from Saturday through Monday.
"It's usually a pretty busy weekend for us," said Capt. Keith Roberts, Parkersburg Police Department. "Some would say it's the last big party weekend before summer is over. Fortunately, it seems drunk driving violations have gone down in the past few years, so we're hoping that trend continues."
Parkersburg Police will conduct sobriety checkpoints at Seventh and George streets from 9 p.m. Friday to 1 a.m. Saturday and from 11 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday.
Wood County sheriff's deputies will focus on catching intoxicated drivers and will set up patrols on high-traffic roads and intersections this weekend.
"Our DUI grants allow us to have deputies target drunk drivers specifically," said Capt. Rick Woodyard, Wood County Sheriff's Office. "We'll also have officers out in high-traffic and accident-prone areas. It's a busy weekend, but we'll be prepared."
High-traffic areas outside the city limits include Seventh Street, U.S. 50, W.Va. 2 and Interstate 77.
On the other side of the river, Ohio law enforcement agencies will be combating drunken drivers and speeders.
Sgt. A. Hayes with the Ohio State Highway Patrol said nearly 100 percent of the Marietta post troopers will be out this weekend.
"Our focus will be reducing the speed of holiday travelers. Speeding is our number one crash factor here in Marietta and Belpre," he said.
The Ohio Department of Transportation reported there were 2,742 crashes on Ohio roadways over Labor Day weekend 2009, with 20 fatalities.
An ODOT safety analysis shows that drivers tailgating or following too closely to the vehicles ahead of them contributed to most of those crashes. Losing control of the vehicle and not following traffic laws, such as yielding and stopping at intersections, also were leading contributors.
