Kyle PD increases patrols on I-35

Recent traffic fatalities along I-35 in Kyle have police saying enough. Starting Monday they are increasing their patrol efforts on the interstate and the frontage roads on either side of it.

For Kyle residents, I-35 is a necessary evil.

"A lot of people don't use their blinkers and speed up and ride on your back side,” said driver Tonya Joy-Soules.

More than 120,000 vehicles pass through the city daily. With so many people sharing the roadway, one wrong move can unleash a disastrous chain of events.

"It seems like it's more dangerous these days,” said Joy-Soules.

Chief Jeff Barnett says his officers have investigated six fatalities this year, including a wrong way crash DWI crash that took the lives of four people.

Most recently, a man was killed when the driver of an 18-wheeler read-ended him. An Austin police officer was injured in a chain-reaction crash that included four 18-wheelers.

"What we've realized is when we have one accident we often times have two and sometimes three in the back up,” said Barnett.

The top causes he says are distracted driving, aggressive driving and speed.

"We see people regularly at 90 and above,” said Barnett.

Starting Monday, Kyle officers hit the interstate to target those three issues.

"We have our traditional on duty staff as well as additional officers that have been brought in to work an extra assignment and focus all of their attention on I-35 and the service road,” said Barnett.

As soon as officers would finish one traffic stop, their patrol lights were on again, chasing after another violator. They will continue the effort through the end of the week.

"I think that's great because there are a lot of people out there who need to tone down their driving skills,” said Joy-Soules.

"We want people to simply pay attention to the roadway, make sure you are driving safe and responsible and make it safely to your destination,” said Barnett.

The enforcement isn't just happening during the day time hours. Officers will be carrying out night time operations too.