The Christmas holiday was a fairly safe one for residents ofMississippi Highway Patrol Troop M’s district.

Of the 193 accidents investigated on the state’s highways andinterstates, only 11 came from Troop M’s nine-county area, and onlyone of those had injuries. Public Affairs Officer Sgt. Rusty Boydsaid the low number of accidents was fortunate, but could also havebeen in part to added patrols on the road.

“We’d like to think that we were out there and may haveprevented some by being out there on line patrols,” he said. “I’msure the grace of God played a big part in it too, but we’d like tothink we had a part in it by being out there and being seen.”

In addition, troopers wrote 10 driving under the influencecitations in Troop M, putting the district in the middle of thecount for the state’s nine districts. There were also two citationsissued for public drunkenness.

Seventeen tickets were issued for seat belt and child restraintviolations, Boyd said. He said overall, 718 citations of thestate’s 6,039 were issued in Troop M.

“Statewide we had two fatalities, which is not good, but it’sbetter than we’ve had on some holidays,” he said. “The holiday waskind of quiet but we had a good bit of enforcement activity.”

Boyd said drivers need to be aware that MHP will be on the roadsagain for the New Year holiday coming up this weekend. The holidayenforcement period will run from Dec. 31 through Jan. 3, and therewill be increased presence on the road, as well as drivers’ licensecheckpoints.

And the best way to avoid trouble of any kind during theholiday, Boyd said, is to make certain party plans include a wayhome if drinking is going to be a factor.

“Prearrange a ride. If you’re going to a party or some place,prearrange a ride or a place to stay so you don’t have to get outon the highway,” he said. “It’s not worth taking the chance ofkilling yourself or someone else just to have a good time.”

While southwest Mississippi has been lucky during recentholidays, Boyd reminded drivers to be alert so they will make ithome safely.

“We always need to be vigilant and step up just to preventthings happening the best we can,” Boyd said. “We don’t want to sayjust because we’ve not had any major incidents recently that wedon’t need to be careful.”