The Mississippi Highway Patrol recently wrapped up its Christmas enforcement period, issuing over 4,000 citations and responding to nearly 200 crashes. Extra troopers will once again fleck the roadways for the agency’s New Year enforcement period, which begins Wednesday morning.
The period of heightened patrol begins Wednesday at 6 a.m. and goes through Thursday at midnight. MHP Capt. Criss Turnipseed explained that the goal is to keep people safe, especially with New Year’s Eve events and parties happening across the state.
“Buckle that seatbelt, put that cell phone down, and slow down a little bit, and let’s have a safe 2026,” he urged.
Turnipseed specifically warns against getting behind the wheel, even if a person has had one drink or less. He said what they often see is people thinking they are sound enough to drive, but in reality, their blood alcohol content is above the legal limit.
“99% of the things we can do can be really curbed down a lot if people just make a (smart) decision before,” he said, encouraging people to arrange designated drivers or rideshares. “We don’t believe in accidents. We call them crashes, and the majority of them are preventable if just better decisions were made before you get behind the wheel. That’s just the truth of it.”
The two-day New Year enforcement period from a year ago saw over 3,000 citations issued and 27 arrests made for driving under the influence.