(Missourinet) – The Friday before Memorial Day is traditionally one of the busiest travel days of the year in Missouri, as people head to lakes and other Memorial Day holiday destinations.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Lieutenant Paul Reinsch said troopers are being stationed at 20-mile intervals Friday along Interstates 29, 44, 55 and 70, as well as Highways 60 and 61.

“We’re going to be promoting safety by looking for those aggressive drivers, particularly speeding, maybe aggressive passing and things of that nature,” Reinsch said. “And we’re just wanting to make the roadways as safe as possible.”

During Missouri’s 2017 Memorial Day weekend, nine people died and 496 were injured in 1,122 traffic crashes.

Reinsch said troopers made 107 DWI arrests during the 2017 Memorial Day weekend.

He encourages motorists to call *55 if they see impaired drivers or aggressive driving.

Missouri state troopers will also be on the state’s lakes and waterways during this Memorial Day weekend, which is the unofficial start to the boating season.

Reinsch notes state law requires children under the age of seven to wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved flotation device anytime they’re in a boat.

“Again, it’s not only important for those children, it’s important for adults, and as we learned last weekend with the tragic loss of life at the Lake of the Ozarks, it’s extremely important to wear one,” Reinsch said.

Lieutenant Reinsch said three people died and two others were seriously injured in last weekend’s boating crash, when a boat crashed into a rock bluff.

Reinsch said that deadly incident is still under investigation.

During Missouri’s 2017 Memorial Day weekend, one person died and seven were injured in 15 boating crashes.