Montana to join Idaho, N. Dakota in holiday weekend patrols

On Labor Day weekend, troopers from the Montana Highway Patrol, the Idaho State Police and the North Dakota Highway Patrol will join together to carry out Operation Border to Border — a collaborative effort to reduce traffic fatalities, impaired driving and criminal activities on state highways.

The initiative begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday and concludes at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, with saturation patrols concentrating on U.S. 2 and U.S. 93. Although extra patrols will be assigned to these areas, troopers will continue to work their regularly scheduled shifts providing coverage across the state on both highways, county roads and interstates.

U.S. 2 and U.S. 93 were identified by the states as high-traffic corridors experiencing an increase in traffic congestion and dangerous driving and therefore selected for Operation Border to Border. While Operation Border to Border will focus on the enforcement of all criminal laws and traffic codes, the campaign will stress enforcement of impaired and distracted driving and seat-belt use. Additionally, due to the increase in serious injuries and deaths of police officers and first responders alongside roadways, the 2017 Operation Border to Border initiative will be dedicated to detecting and enforcing violations related to failing to move over for emergency vehicles, which is a violation in all three jurisdictions.

“Even though we enforce the law every day, it is our hope that the Operation Border to Border initiative will draw much-needed attention to the necessity safe driving behaviors,” said Major Steve Lavin of Kalispell, Highway Patrol incident commander for Operation Border to Border. “High visibility enforcement has a deterrent effect and our hope is that people will see the flashing lights, and even if they’re not the ones being pulled over, will pause and consider their own driving habits.”

Operation Border to Border is a national program. North Carolina, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Virginia have conducted the initiative for the past five years in their jurisdictions.