Bismarck  (NDHP)   Since 2014, North Dakota has had five fatalities resulting from motor vehicle crashes either leading up to or right after the Thanksgiving holiday. This Thanksgiving, the North Dakota Highway Patrol is conducting an All-Hands enforcement effort on Wednesday, November 27 and Sunday, December 1 as people travel to and from Thanksgiving festivities.

During the Wednesday preceding and the Sunday following Thanksgiving in 2018, the NDHP conducted just over 10 traffic stops per hour which resulted in a total of 490 stops. These traffic stops resulted in 299 speeding citations, 14 drug related charges, and nine arrests for driving under the influence. In total, NDHP troopers issued 467 citations on these two days.

NDHP requests motorists to drive responsibly this holiday by following the posted speed limit; driving impairment and distraction free; and following all rules of the road. Let’s work to keep things slow for NDHP troopers this Thanksgiving holiday as we all work toward Vision Zero: zero fatalities, zero excuses.