Mississippi Highway Patrol’s increased enforcement over the 2022 Labor Day weekend resulted in 3,391 more citations than the same period in 2021, a 51% increase.
The stepped-up patrols began at 6 a.m. Friday and ran through midnight Monday. Overall, the number of crashes and fatalities was slightly down compared with the previous year, but citations for driving under the influence and for improper seatbelt or child restraint use were both up.
The MHP region covering George, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson County, Pearl River and Stone counties recorded the fewest citations of the state’s nine regions, with 841 issued. The Meridian region was next lowest with 874, while the highest total, 1,564, came from the northeast region covering Corinth, New Albany and Tupelo.
Three fatal crashes occurred over the holiday weekend in George, Lauderdale and Washington counties, down from six fatalities in 2021.