During the Christmas holiday, the New Mexico State Police participated in the Combined Accident Reduction Effort C.A.R.E. operation across all roadways within the state. The goal of the traffic initiative is to increase motorist safety and reduce the number of crashes through a strong law enforcement presence.
Because of the increased volume of traffic during the holiday, NMSP increased its patrol presence during this initiative on roadways throughout all State Police districts on the busiest travel days of the Christmas holiday, specifically Dec. 22 through Dec. 26.
The operation resulted in State Police officers issuing over 2,100 traffic citations (69 citations were for lack of seat belt usage) and arresting 34 impaired drivers statewide. Officers investigated a total of 61 crashes, with two being fatal. The Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Bureau issued 89 commercial vehicle citations and conducted over 347 commercial vehicle inspections.
An additional operation focusing along Interstate 40 on Dec. 22 resulted in 156 traffic citations and two crashes investigated.
