(Radio Iowa) – There’ll be extra law officers out on Iowa roadways today (Monday) for the start of the Thanksgiving special traffic enforcement. Brett Tjepkes is the Bureau Chief of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau. “Last year there were 17 fatal and serious injury crashes and five involved people that weren’t wearing their seat belts. So, it’s a lot of a lot of heartbreak for people to lose family and friends or to be seriously injured,” Tjepkes says. He says they will be looking for people who are speeding or using their phones while driving. “You know there’s consequences to risky behavior. We don’t want it to be in a crash or to get injured. And sometimes that might involve a citation or a fine from law enforcement,” he says. “But that’s that’s much better than the than the alternative.”

ISP Traffic Enforcement (file photo)

Thanksgiving is know as a day where people might eat too much turkey, but it isn’t thought to be a big holiday for alcohol. Tjepkes says it can be a factor any time of the year. “It’s always a concern whenever you know people are socializing, quite often there is alcohol involved, which is fine until you get into a vehicle and drive,” Tjepkes says. Tjepkes says there is zero tolerance for drinking and driving. “We just want to make sure people understand if they’ve been drinking alcohol or consuming other drugs, you don’t get in a vehicle and drive. You know, find an alternate transportation, get a family or friend or a rideshare like Uber, Lyft,” he says.

The special enforcement will run through November 30th.