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Montana Hopes Safe Driving Message Will Go Viral

Montana Department of Transportation

Montana law-enforcement agencies are stepping up traffic enforcement ahead of the Memorial Day holiday. They’re also turning to “new media” to spread their message to drive safely.The next time you watch a video on Hulu, you might run across this public service announcement depicting a mother devastated after losing her teenage son to a traffic accident.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZo9QF5ACqo

The PSA, produced by the Montana Department of Transportation, is part of the state’s “Vision Zero” campaign to reduce, and possibly eliminate, traffic fatalities. Other safety videos will play on various social media sites, and even the video screens on some gas pumps; at the same time, the highway patrol and forty local police and sheriff’s departments are redoubling their efforts to catch speeders and other unsafe drivers.

State Transportation Director Mike Tooley wants to get people talking about buckling up, driving sober, and driving safely.

"We can only do so much, as much as we care, it’s those conversations that take place in the home and across the fence that I think’ll make a big difference."

The state is picking up the cost of extra patrol shifts for many local police departments from now through the Memorial Day weekend, and it’ll do the same over the fourth of July and Labor day. So if you’re not careful, don’t be surprised if you see red and blue lights in your rear view mirror.

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