Spring Break is here, and Texas law enforcement isn’t taking any chances. The Texas Department of Public Safety is launching a sweeping statewide crackdown on dangerous driving — and if you’re planning to celebrate, you’d better buckle up. Literally.
Starting March 9 through March 17, 2026, the Texas DPS is ramping up patrols across the state as part of Operation CARE, a coordinated enforcement campaign targeting impaired driving, speeding, seat belt violations, and other high-risk behaviors that tend to spike during Spring Break and St. Patrick’s Day festivities. The timing is no accident — these are among the most dangerous stretches of the year on Texas roads, and state officials want drivers to know they’re watching.
Troopers Out in Force
Texas Highway Patrol Chief Bryan Rippee didn’t mince words when explaining the department’s approach. stated, “These are heavy traffic times as people get out to celebrate, but safety must always come first. Our troopers will be highly visible across the state, focused on preventing impaired driving, speeding and other dangerous behaviors that put lives at risk.”
That visibility is intentional. The campaign isn’t just about writing tickets — it’s about deterrence. High-profile patrol presence during peak celebration windows has long been a cornerstone of DPS enforcement strategy, and Operation CARE is designed with exactly that philosophy in mind.
A Nationwide Push, With Texas Muscle Behind It
Operation CARE isn’t a Texas-only invention. It’s a nationwide initiative organized by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, designed to flood high-crash periods with increased law enforcement presence and drive down fatal and serious injury crashes across the country. Texas, with its sprawling highway network and massive Spring Break population, is one of the most critical theaters for that effort.
Still, numbers from last year’s campaign offer a sobering preview of what troopers are likely to encounter this time around. During the 2025 enforcement period, DPS officers issued and recorded more than 93,232 citations and warnings. That included 6,425 speeding violations, 516 seat belt and child seat violations, and 2,483 citations for driving without insurance. Perhaps most striking: 552 felony and fugitive arrests were made during that same window — a reminder that traffic stops sometimes turn into something far more serious than a speeding reported.
Move Over — Or Else
How bad is the Move Over problem in Texas? Bad enough that it’s become a headline issue all on its own. So far in 2026, DPS has already documented more than 2,404 Move Over, Slow Down violations — and the year is barely past its first quarter. Texas law requires drivers to move over or reduce speed when approaching stopped emergency vehicles, law enforcement, or tow trucks on the roadside. It’s a rule that gets ignored with alarming regularity.
That’s not just a legal issue. It’s a life-and-death one. Troopers and first responders working roadside stops are among the most vulnerable people on Texas highways, and every ignored Move Over law is a near-miss waiting to happen.
What DPS Wants You to Know
The department’s safety guidance for the holiday stretch is straightforward, if not exactly groundbreaking: don’t drink and drive, wear your seat belt, slow down, and — if you’re going to drink — plan ahead. Designate a driver. Call a rideshare. The options exist; the choice is yours.
But it’s not that simple for everyone caught up in the chaos of a Spring Break week or a St. Patrick’s Day crowd. Enforcement campaigns like this one exist precisely because good intentions don’t always survive a late night out. The presence of troopers — and the very real prospect of a DWI arrest, a speeding ticket, or worse — is sometimes the only reminder that cuts through.
The roads will be packed. The patrols will be out. And somewhere on a Texas highway this week, a trooper is already watching — hoping you make the right call before they have to make one for you.
