The Memorial Day weekend is upon us, and with that comes some travel safety reminders from law enforcement.

Iowa State Patrol Trooper Shelby McCreedy tells Raccoon Valley Radio what they’re focusing on for Memorial Day Weekend.

“The Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau has established seat belts as the priority and their campaign for 2025 is ‘Click It, Don’t Risk It.’ And the whole point of this is because in 2024, nearly 44 percent of fatalities were not restrained in the state of Iowa. Now it’s important to understand that this includes statistics from both fatalities in the front seat and the back seat.”

McCreedy encourages everyone to be seat belted inside the vehicle at all times and from anywhere in the vehicle. Additionally, she mentions that people need to have a plan in place in the event that they plan to celebrate with friends and family, and have alcoholic beverages. She adds that while everyone should enjoy themselves and have fun while celebrating the holiday, they need to be smart and safe about it as well.