"The Amarillo Police Department is taking steps to make this Christmas and New Year’s Holiday safe.
The department has a traffic grant courtesy of the Texas Department of Transportation that allows extra officers to patrol and concentrate on impaired drivers, speeding drivers, drivers and passengers of vehicles not wearing seatbelts, and drivers in violation of the cell phone ordinance. There have been 24 fatal traffic collisions this year with 29 deaths. Sixteen of those accidents involved impaired drivers. Sixteen of those fatal collisions involved excessive speed and fourteen of them involved occupants not restrained by a seatbelt.
Extra officers will be assigned to concentrate on these violations to prevent these numbers from increasing. Please do not drive after consuming alcohol, observe the speed limits, wear your seatbelt, make sure children are secured in a child safety seat (children under the age of 8 years of age are required to be in an approved child passenger safety seat system unless they are taller than 4 foot, nine inches), and put your cell phone away while driving.
Enforcement will be strict!
Let’s have a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Safe New Year!"
-Amarillo Police Dept.
