From downtown costume parties to back road bonfires, many celebrations will likely include alcohol. Make your plans for this year's Halloween fun, but keep in mind that one of the best choices you can make is to drive sober or designate a sober driver to get you home safely. 

With an increased number of impaired drivers on the road and an increase in pedestrian traffic as children trick-or-treat, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration classifies Halloween as a statistically dangerous night for impaired driving. That danger can be prevented if drivers just plan ahead.

"Every year there are still some people who think they can drive after drinking," says Bill Whitfield, executive chair of the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety. "The only sober driver is one that has consumed no alcohol."

In 2016 there were 11 fatalities and 56 serious injuries from traffic crashes during the Halloween holiday weekend. Eight of those crashes involved impaired drivers, resulting in four fatalities and five serious injuries.

The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety recommends these simple tips for a safe Halloween:

Before the Halloween festivities begin, plan a way to safely get home at the end of the night.

Always designate a sober driver.

If you've been drinking, take a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation.

Walking impaired can be just as dangerous as drunk driving. Designate a sober friend to walk you home.

If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact local law enforcement.

If you know someone who is about to drive or ride impaired, take their keys and help them make safe travel arrangements to where they are going.

Enjoy your Halloween holiday and make your memories those of great times with friends and family, not those of tragedy and loss. Don't drive impaired. 

The chill in the air and the falling leaves mean winter weather will be here soon. To prepare, MoDOT is stocking salt and preparing equipment to be ready when winter weather is here. To test our crews' readiness, MoDOT will hold a statewide drill on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017.

The drill tests MoDOT's winter battle plan to ensure its readiness to get travelers back on Missouri roadways as quickly as possible after winter storms.

"Over 3,200 MoDOT employees are involved in our winter operations, including every maintenance crew across the state," said State Maintenance Engineer Becky Allmeroth. "The annual drill helps to make sure we all know our roles during a storm, and we can do our jobs successfully."

During the drill, MoDOT employees will react to a simulated forecast of significant snow for the entire state. The department's emergency operations centers will activate and maintenance employees will be deployed to MoDOT's 1,500 trucks. Emergency communications systems will also be tested.

"One of the most valuable parts of the drill is to measure our snowplow assignments by driving routes we may have modified since the previous winter season. As we open new roads and lanes we must modify our snow removal plans." said Allmeroth. "It also allows our newest snow fighters the opportunity to drive a snowplow over some of their proposed routes so they are aware of obstacles and obstructions that might be hidden in a storm by snow or ice such as curbs and raised islands."

Motorists may notice increased numbers of MoDOT vehicles on state routes during the drill. In rural areas, crews will deploy after 8 a.m. In urban areas, the drill will not begin until after 9 a.m. The exercise should be completed by 3 p.m.

Missouri - Remember that Friday, Oct. 20, 2017 is "Buckle Up/Phone Down Day." The challenge is simple: when you get into any vehicle, buckle up your safety belt. If you are a driver, put the cellphone down. Turn it off if you have to. No texting and no talking unless hands free. By buckling up and putting your phone down - even for one day - you will be doing your part to make Missouri's roads safer. Let's save lives and turn this day into a week, a month and eventually every trip, every time. 

Texting increases the risk of car crashes by 50 percent. Sixty-seven percent of this year's fatalities involved unbuckled drivers or passengers that may have survived if they were only properly restrained. The loss of one life is too many.

Join the movement - stand up and be counted on Buckle Up/Phone Down Challenge Day Friday, Oct. 20. 

Missouri - MoDOT cautions motorists to watch out for slow-moving vehicles

                                                           

It's harvest time on Missouri farms, and MoDOT wants to remind motorists to pay extra attention to farm equipment using and crossing state roadways.

"Harvest season is a busy time of the year for Missouri's farm families, and MoDOT wants to make it a safe time of year too," said MoDOT Highway Safety and Traffic Engineer Nicole Hood. "Farm equipment vehicles can be slow-moving, and motorists may be surprised when they come up behind one on a Missouri highway."

Missouri's 34,000 miles of state roadways pass alongside the fields of thousands of farms throughout the state. Farm equipment vehicles were involved in 582 crashes in the three years of 2014 through 2016.  These crashes resulted in 17 people being killed and 199 injured. 

"Contrary to what some may believe, these crashes do not just occur on county roadways," Hood said.  "While the majority of these crashes occurred on letter routes and county roads, some crashes also occurred on interstates and other high-speed roadways."

Motorists are advised to slow down when approaching farm vehicles. Be patient as the farm vehicles travel to their field entrances. In passing zones, please wait until it is safe, and pass at a safe distance and speed.

HONORING THE VICTIMS OF THE TRAGEDY IN LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Our Nation is heartbroken. We mourn with all whose loved ones were murdered and injured in last night’s horrible tragedy in Las Vegas, Nevada. As we grieve, we pray that God may provide comfort and relief to all those suffering.

As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless act of violence perpetrated on October 1, 2017, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, October 6, 2017.

I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this second day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-second.

DONALD J. TRUMP