Highway Patrol Ride Along

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Luckily for me, I was supposed to be there, as part of a ride-along with a trooper from the SD Highway Patrol.  I rode with Trooper Isaac Kurtz for an about 4 hours, and got to see first-hand some of what troopers experience as they work to keep our highways safe.  With it being the start of labor day weekend, there was no shortge of traffic on the road, and Trooper Kurtz did stop a couple of speeders on I-229.  There were a couple of calls from motorists expressing concerns about things like bicyclists on the interstate, and we were on the scene after one young driver got in an accident after falling asleep at the wheel coming home from school.  

During the ride, I got a chance to talk to Trooper Kurtz about the challenges that go along with his job.  He told me about troopers' ongoing training, challenges with staffing during busy times (like when accident rates increase b/c of bad weather), and even how the SDHP encourages them to be as efficient as possible with gas usage.  I was impressed with everyone's professionalism and ability to stay calm, not knowing what might happen at a traffic stop (one of the stops I was along for involved pulling over a pickup with some very large dogs in the back!) to what's going to be waiting at the scene of an accident.  

As a member of the Judiciary committee, it was really helpful for me to get a glimse of law enforcement up close, and I'm very grateful to the SD Highway Patrol for extending the invitation!