The Iowa State Patrol is warning drivers to be responsible for Labor Day weekend.

Labor Day is known as the last major holiday of the summer, and the start of football. Iowa State Patrol Sergeant Alex Dinkla shares that a lot of people are planning to travel over the weekend, especially with the University of Iowa and Iowa State University football teams both in action in the state. With the volume of traffic out on the roadways this time of year, Dinkla stresses to buckle up before traveling.

“So far, 44% of the people that have been killed on Iowa roadways, plain and simple, did not have a seatbelt on. Had they buckled that seatbelt, there’s a greater chance that they would’ve survived that crash and possibly not even have been injured at all.”

Dinkla informs that they are going to clamp down on the infractions of operating while intoxicated (OWI). He kindly reminds people to find designated drivers if they know they will be consuming alcoholic beverages.