CALLAWAY COUNTY, MO. -- Missouri Highway Patrol Troopers were out in force Sunday stationed at every 10 miles as part of Operation C.A.R.E. 

KRCG rode along with the Highway Patrol and found that they were pretty happy with how the holiday weekend ended up.

"It's going pretty good so far," Missouri Highway Patrol Trooper Justin Turner said. 

Missouri Highway Patrol is participating in operation care, which is a combined accident reduction effort.

All available officers were assigned to Missouri's roadways to enforce traffic laws, especially those related to drunk driving, speeding and seat belt use.

"The more of us out there, the more people are going to see us, they're going to obey the traffic laws that we want them to obey to make our roads safer," Turner said.

Some Mid-Missouri travelers said they are more aware of the rules of the road when the presence of the highway patrol increases.

"Having them out there like I said does increase awareness as far as speeding and erratic driving so yeah I guess it's probably a good thing," traveler Eric Riffert said. 

"I think that keeps me slower than speeding more," traveler Dustin Lawson said.

Missouri State Highway Patrol said shifting some troopers from interstate highways to U.S. and secondary highways will give the patrol a noticeable presence with the hopes of reducing crashes and fatalities. 

"We expect accidents, accidents are just what the word says, they're accidents,” Turner said.  “Most of the time people don't intentionally do stuff so, it happens." 

During the 2009 Thanksgiving holiday weekend 6 people were killed, 437 were injured in more than 1,000 accidents.

Missouri traffic fatalities are down 8% compared to the same period last year.

"Traffics obviously thick for thanksgiving but it seems to be going pretty good so far," Turner said.

Turner says attention to the roadways is key.

"Obey traffic laws,” Turner said.  “It's going to decrease your likelihood of having an accident greatly. Obey the traffic laws and if you do get stopped by one of us, treat us with respect, we'll treat you with respect and we'll figure stuff out."

Missouri Highway Patrol said they are always concerned about individuals’ safety, no matter what the date is.