AUGUSTA, Maine — State Police will use aircraft, unmarked cruisers, and additional troopers starting Friday to look for impaired or aggresive drivers and keep motorists safe for the upcoming holiday week.
The Maine Deparment of Public Safety made the announcement regarding extra enforcement in a statement released Thursday.
Troopers will also crack down on seatbelt enforcement and distracted driving, Chief of the State Police Colonel Robert Williams said in the release. These efforts will continues throughout the summer.
Fifty local police departments will join the State Police in their effort to keep motorists safe through Labor Day weekend. The Maine Bureau of Highway Safety has awarded $250,000 of federal funding to those agencies to help pay for the additional patrols and services this summer.
As of Thursday, 72 people have died on Maine roads in 2012. The number is lower than the ten year average, but higher than the amount of deaths at this time last year, the safest year since 1959, according to the Maine State Police.
June has been particularly dangerous on Maine roads, as 21 people have died on the roads throughout the month so far compared to only 10 deaths for the month last year, according to the release.