By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
As drivers hit the road for the holiday weekend, the Missouri Highway Patrol is urging them to give 100-percent attention to their driving.
Sergeant Shane Hux with Troop H in St. Joseph says distracted driving is a growing problem, especially with cell phones.
"People have more information at their fingertips, they always want to know what's going on at all times, so they're always keeping that mobile device with them whether they be checking the news, checking the weather, communicating with family members in other locations via text, snapchat, Instagram, things like that, checking their emails," Hux tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post
He adds the highway patrol urges drivers to follow three simple rules this weekend, give 100-percent attention to the road, follow traffic laws, and buckle up.
Hux says the Memorial Day holiday is a big travel time, because it’s the first major holiday of the year.
"So, people tend to travel a lot, so they get in their whether it be RVs, pulling boats with trailers, things like that, so traffic increases no matter what distance they're going whether it be 30 miles or 130 miles just traffic increases tremendously during the four major holidays of the year, Memorial Day being the first one," Hux explains.
Hux says the patrol expects a larger amount of traffic this year as we come out of the COVID pandemic.
"Compared to even last year, a lot more vehicles on the road, so a lot more people do travel," he says.
Even with the higher gas prices seen lately, Hux expects people to be out this weekend.
"People have been cooped up with COVID the last couple of years so they do want to get out and celebrate and get some time to themselves," Hux says.
The patrol expects an influx of drivers on the road today as people begin to travel and on Monday as they begin to return home.