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While the Iowa special Traffic Enforcement Program (sTEP) won’t be enforced around Memorial Day weekend this year, the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office still encourages motorists to drive safely and obey traffic laws.

The sTEP enforcement scheduled for May 18-31st has been moved to sometime this November, but that doesn’t mean the roads are lawless for drivers to speed or operate vehicles while impaired. There have been three vehicle chases resulting in arrests this month in Guthrie County. Sheriff Marty Arganbright says he thinks the disruptions of normal life brought on by COVID-19 are related to drivers acting more reckless in Iowa, “I think that the perception is that the police won’t stop them if they’re speeding and that’s not true. There’s been lots of reports of vehicles driving fast and over the speed limit, so I think the public needs to know if you plan on speeding at a high rate of speed you’re probably going to be stopped and ticketed.”

Arganbright also warns that if you drive at a high enough speed you can also risk losing your license. According to the Iowa Department of Transportation, as of this week the number of crash fatalities in the state so far this year is 81, which is lower than 105 last year and the four years prior. The Iowa State Patrol hopes to keep the year end number below 300 this year, and encourages motorists to stay home to prevent spreading COVID-19, getting a traffic ticket, or worse.