Officials with the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau are advising motorists about the next Special Traffic Enforcement Program (sTEP). Law enforcement agencies throughout the state will be out in force the week of March 14th through the 17th, looking for motorists who are violating traffic laws during the St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The theme is “Don’t Press Your luck. Buckle up day and night.”

The sTEP program consists of five high-visibility enforcement waves throughout the year, meant to get motorists to change their driving behavior by buckling up, slowing down, driving sober, and obeying all traffic laws, in order to reduce the number of vehicle crashes and save lives.

During last year’s St. Patricks weekend sTEP wave, there were more than 16,279 traffic violations reported by 234 law enforcement agencies that together, had more than 1,600 officers working the enforcement effort. After the St. Patrick’s weekend sTEP, law enforcement will be gearing up for the same effort May 20th through June 2nd…during the Memorial Day Holiday.