Heavy traffic in Southern Colorado ahead of Thanksgiving.

With the holiday weekend, you may have noticed a surge of travelers in Southern Colorado as families everywhere hit the road. You may have also noticed more police officers, many patrolling the roads for impaired drivers.

Lieutenant Howard Black with the Colorado Springs Police Department tells us officers are on high alert, “When you look at the interstate, paying attention to some of the cameras you can see that steady flow really build as we get into the afternoon,” says Black. Major backups and accidents keeping police and other law enforcement busy. Police are also busy with holiday revelers going out for a few drinks before getting in their car to drive. Officer Kyle Johnson has been with CSPD for three years. He says on this holiday, there’s always a few DUI arrests. Johnson says, “I believe just from my own experience, you do see an increase in driving under the influence.”

Plus, with the record number of traffic fatalities this year now at 47, you can expect police to be out in full force the next few days. Black says, “We are at an all-time record for Colorado Springs. We do not want to see that number go up and we as individuals, we get to help make those choices for that number not to go up.”

Lt. Black encouraging people who are out celebrating to get a designated driver or to use Lyft or Uber.