(Host) Vermont State Police kicked off Easter weekend today by stepping up traffic enforcement at the border between Vermont and Quebec.
The new initiative – dubbed ‘Operation Traffic Safety without Borders’-is a joint effort with state police in Maine, New Hampshire and New York as well as with the Quebec Provincial Police.
Captain Rob Evans is an Assistant Field Force Commander with the Vermont State Police.
(Evans) "Traffic-related fatalities and accidents that take place out on our roadways – both in the United States and Canada – a lot of times have everything to do with distraction, aggressive driving, and those types of behaviors of travelers, that it’s just a chance to go out there and have a campaign where we can educate as well as enforce."
(Host) Evans says that by working with neighboring state police and Canadian officials, motorists should be seeing a ‘stepped up presence’ out on the roads.
(Evans) "They’re going to see, you know, blue lights out on the roads, or if they’re in New York red lights out on the roads and people being stopped for travel issues."
(Host) Police officials say that high visibility traffic enforcement can influence driving behavior and help to reduce motor vehicle accidents.
In Vermont, stepped up patrols have been taking place in border areas in Franklin and Grand Isle counties, predominantly on major roadways where there’s a concentration of international traffic.