ALEA, travelers talk traffic safety ahead of Memorial Day rush
WIREGRASS, Ala. (WDHN) — With Memorial Day weekend kicking off, millions of travelers are expected to be hitting the roads.
According to AAA nearly 40 million travelers are expected to be on the roads this year–the most it’s ever been since 2000.
With an increase in traffic coming through the Wiregrass area, one state trooper says that she is beefing up security to protect those on the roads.
“We try to make sure we ensure a heavier presence of troopers as well as other agencies that we partner with to enforce our traffic laws on the roadways,” Trooper Mckinney said.
Just before the start of the holiday weekend, however, two lives were tragically lost in separate crashes.
Late Thursday night, Ashford resident Taylor Williams was killed when he was involved in a wreck involving an 18-wheeler and a pickup truck.
The accident occurred at the intersection of Barrington Road and Montgomery Highway.
On Wednesday night, Dane Moormann, 17, of Elba died when his vehicle ran off the road in the 1400 block of County Road 702 in Enterprise and hit a culvert-killing him on impact.
Due to the recent deaths, two Wiregrass residents say they are taking extra precautions and safety measures this year while traveling.
“Keep a distance in between the cars, speed don’t be in such a hurry, and leave an escape path mainly.
As travelers hit the roads, McKinney wants to remind drivers that anything can happen at any given time.
“The biggest thing is to be attentive when you’re driving don’t get so comfortable always be defensive,” Trooper Mckinney said. “You never know you could be running to the store and you decide not to put your seatbelt on and you get into a wreck it could cost you your life.”
Mckinney also says that she and her team will be conducting more driver’s license tests while checking for speeding.
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