"You never know. I mean it could be just a simple traffic stop. It could be anything. You could have a person in there that's been drinking or been using illegal drugs, or you never know."

This is the challenge posed to South Dakota Highway Patrol Trooper Chris Regan on a daily basis, but with this week's increased holiday travel, his is a job that's even tougher this time of year.

Trooper Chris Regan of the SDHP says, "The goal is to go out and be visible and enforce traffic laws; get people to slow down because of safe travel for everybody for Thanksgiving weekend and make sure everybody gets where they're going safely."

Regan says the Highway Patrol isn't out in force to make arrests rather to maintain visibility and make sure the public is staying safe on the roads. Routine traffic stops like this one, allow Regan to identify any more serious violations drivers may be making. In this case the driver was speeding with four unrestrained children in the vehicle.

Regan says, "He had three kids between the ages of 7 and 11 sleeping in the back and there was another girl, about 2 years old, being held in one of the passenger's arms upfront, so he ended up getting a couple of citations for not having them in a seatbelt."

It's a small price to pay to ensure this family stays safe and it's a small window into the work of dozens of State Troopers like Regan that's helping to make sure all motorists in South Dakota are getting to their holiday destinations safe and sound.

Brendyn Medina