The Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Alabama Highway Patrol and the sheriff and police departments throughout the states are announcing today an intensive joint initiative to reduce traffic fatalities and increase safety during the upcoming days, Sergeant Leslie White of the Batesville MHP office said.

The program, “Take Back Our Highways,” will place all available law enforcement officers from participating agencies on patrol duty July 25-31 in an intensive highway safety effort throughout the Tri-state area.

Throughout these days, officers in all these states will target primary driving behaviors that cause crashes and contribute to fatalities these include: speeding, failure to yield right of way, following too closely and driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

The public can expect to see a marked increase in the number of citations. Troopers will target crash-prone areas, implement line patrols, set up driver’s license and sobriety checkpoints and check for seat belt usage.

We encourage all motorists to buckle up, obey the speed limit laws and refrain from drinking while driving this helps to ensure their safety and that of others.

The goal of this effort is simply to save lives.