State troopers and local law enforcement agencies are stepping up patrols during the long Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Sixty-nine police and sheriff's departments are joining with the state troopers to target drunken drivers and other violators by conducting sobriety checkpoints and additional patrols. Funding from the extra patrols comes from grants awarded by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs and the state Department of Transportation.
State Public Safety Director Hugh McCall says troopers will concentrate on driving behaviors that frequently cause accidents. They include speeding, making unsafe lane changes, following too closely and failing to yield right of way.