Law enforcement to ramp up patrols over Memorial Day weekend

Law enforcement to increase presence for Memorial Day weekend

Memorial Day weekend is here and that means plenty of people are hitting the road—and law enforcement is too.

WASHINGTON - Memorial Day weekend is here and that means plenty of people are hitting the road—and law enforcement is too.

Whether you’re staying home or hitting the road, AAA says both the roads and the skies will be busy.

What they're saying:

In its annual Memorial Day report, AAA projects that more than 1 million Washington metro area residents will travel, which is a slight increase over last year.

The vast majority—nearly 90 percent—will do it by car. AAA also says nearly 92,000 D.C. area residents will hop on a plane, which would be a Memorial Day weekend record.

Amadou Toure Jr. says he’s "always prepared" to deal with traffic on a holiday weekend. 

Big picture view:

Drivers need to be careful. Law enforcement all over the area says they plan to be out in force.

Virginia State Police say that over the four-day holiday weekend last year, thirteen people died on Virginia roads.

They’ll be out looking for impaired drivers, speeders, people who aren’t wearing their seatbelts, and distracted drivers.

"Makes sense. I mean, we’ll probably see a lot more distracted driving all weekend, especially because people will be coming into town, leaving town," said Kamyah and Tez Green. 

Which means if you decide you just want to take it easy, that might be a good idea too.

"No plans at all. It’s going to be a very relaxed, boring weekend," Jordan Mendez said. 

The good news:

If you are hitting the road, here’s something you’ve got going for you: AAA SAYS nationally, we are currently looking at the lowest Memorial Day weekend gas prices since 2021.