Troop C ‘Zero for December’ seeks traffic-free holiday

Just in time for the holidays, Louisiana State Police Troop C has launched a campaign designed to ensure residents make it to and from their destinations safely this season.

Troop C troopers and local law enforcement authorities kicked off their annual highway safety campaign, “Zero for December” this week.

Police hope to make December 2007 the first in seven years with a zero traffic fatality rate.

Last December, Troop C’s patrol area – Terrebonne, Lafourche, Assumption and the west banks of St. James and St. John parishes – experienced a slight drop from the long-standing average of five fatalities, the number was still too high, said spokesman Trooper First Class Gilbert Dardar Jr. Three fatal crashes and a pedestrian death occurred over the Christmas/New Year’s holiday in 2006.

“We’ve been doing this for seven years, and we have yet to get an actual zero for December,” Dardar said. “But it can happen, if we do what we are supposed to do on the roadways.

Last year’s drop, he theorizes, was proof a zero goal can be achieved with the public’s help.

The 2006 fatalities were avoidable, Dardar explained. In two of the crashes, the drivers tested positive for marijuana use. Also, two of the victims were not wearing seatbelts.

“[State police troopers] don’t want to be the ones to come to a family member’s door and tell them that their loved one won’t be coming home,” he said. “The holidays are happy times, not sad ones.”

Fatalities on the roadways over the holidays are not just a local problem. Statewide, there were 76 fatal crashes resulting in 90 deaths. Of those, 46 were related to alcohol.

“That’s too many deaths,” Dardar said. “As citizens, we need to do something about that.”

Concerned residents can do their part by dialing #LPS (577) to report suspicious driving on the roadways. Dardar said calls are forwarded to the nearest troop station in the area.

“This is a way for people to protect each other on the road,” he said.

“Our hope is that this holiday season will be a time for family and friends to join together to celebrate, not to mourn the loss of a loved one due to crashes,” said Troop C Commander Capt. Val Penouilh.

Dardar said troopers will be posted at DWI checkpoints throughout December to target speeders, those driving impaired or driving without a seatbelt buckled.

In addition, Troop C will host a children’s car seat safety training at the east Houma Wal-mart on Dec. 8, from noon to 3 p.m. Troopers will show parents how to properly install children’s car seats.