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Memorial Day Means Parties, Traffic Trouble

News Channel 8 photo by ERIC HAUSMANN

Workers monitor Bay area road conditions at the Sunguide Traffic Management Center. Drivers can call 511 for updates.

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By RICH SHOPES

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 21, 2008

TAMPA - Police and state highway officials are cautioning motorists to slow down and buckle up this Memorial Day weekend, the season's deadliest time for driving.

Fifty-four people were killed statewide in 47 accidents during Memorial Day weekend in 2006, eclipsing Thanksgiving, Independence Day, Labor Day, Christmas and New Year's for traffic deaths, according to the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

"It's a little bigger because it happens in conjunction with the start of the summer travel season," said Trooper Larry Coggins, a Florida Highway Patrol spokesman.

Contributing to the toll are drivers who don't buckle up, drive too fast and drink alcohol. About a third of Florida's highway fatalities two years ago involved alcohol, slightly higher than the national average.

Coggins said another concern is when drivers get behind schedule and drive fast to make up time.

Coggins and AAA advise motorists planning long trips to check their automobiles - tires, fluids, brakes - and fully charge their cell phones in case of emergencies. Drivers can call 511 for real-time traffic updates on most interstates, or log on to TBO .com, keyword: Traffic.

High gas prices are threatening to dampen holiday travel this year. Gregg Laskoski, spokesman for AAA Auto Club South in Tampa, said holiday trips of 50 miles or more are expected to decline 0.9 percent both in Florida and nationally. About 2.1 million Florida residents will be traveling.

"We still think there will be a lot of people traveling, but more will be staying local this year," Laskoski said.

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633 or rshopes@tampatrib.com.

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