Operation C.A.R.E. History

  In 1977, Sgt. Gary Ernst was the Field Safety and Traffic Sergeant assigned to the Benton Harbor Post, Michigan State Police. His agency had participated in the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (S.T.E.P.) for approximately two years and had experienced great success with it. In fact, their saturation enforcement efforts were so well recognized that the involved section of Interstate 94 near the Indiana state line was known to the nation's CB radio operators as "Bear Valley." The resulting compliance with traffic laws, particularly the national maximum speed limit of 55 MPH, had led to a remarkable decrease in accidents, yet Sgt. Ernst was convinced that more could be done. He had been studying accident and enforcement statistics and had noted an increase in accidents and hazardous violations on summer holiday weekends along I-94, the major route between Chicago and Detroit. To him it was obvious that these holiday periods should warrant significant consideration in his state's overall highway safety efforts.

   Across the state line, First Sergeant Gene Neff was assigned to command the Dunes Park Post, Indiana State Police. He had also become aware of the increased activity brought by the summer holidays and had organized cooperative holiday efforts called "Signal 30" operations with local police agencies within his district. He too believed that more could be done and was searching for new ideas when he was contacted by Sgt. Ernst. The two men got together to discuss the possibility of joining forces for the upcoming summer holiday season, but with only about a week to go before the Memorial Day weekend, they just couldn't gain the necessary approvals to get their plan off the ground. Instead, they would aim for the July 4th weekend and utilize the extra time to prepare for a momentous event.

   In the weeks that followed, an operational plan was hammered out, a massive public information campaign was assembled, and high ranking officials from both states were recruited to support the effort. The target area was Interstate 94, stretching across Indiana from the Illinois state line, through Michigan to the Port Huron bridge. The plan was simple; dedicate extra patrols to this entire length of highway during peak holiday travel hours, but the key to the operation was to be its high profile. Motorists traveling I-94 must be made keenly aware of the increased state police presence, the strict enforcement activity and the unified efforts of both states. This would lead to voluntary compliance with traffic laws in both states and ultimately result in fewer accidents. The project was named "Operation C.A.R.E.," an acronym for the Combined Accident Reduction Effort and designed to include a public information and education campaign as well as strict, consistent interstate enforcement.

   When the Fourth of July weekend arrived, Operation C.A.R.E. was kicked-off with a major press conference at an I-94 rest area, approximately one mile east of the Michigan-Indiana state line. The rest area was lined with state police cars from both states and each agency had a helicopter on display. Operation C.A.R.E. signs, with state police insignia from both states, were placed in each direction at the border and Operation C.A.R.E. stickers were affixed to more than 200 state police vehicles that were dedicated to the project. Several dignitaries were present to offer remarks and the opening ceremony was concluded with a handshake between Colonel Gerald Hough, Director of the Michigan State Police, and Superintendent John Shettle of the Indiana State Police.

   The first Operation C.A.R.E. event was so successful that plans for expansion of the program followed immediately. A committee was formed to extend invitations to other states and to determine if the program should be enhanced. The focus was on improved media coverage, increased exposure, participation by legislative members at the state and federal levels, formal speed studies, and improved methods of data collection and analysis. Ideally, the target area would extend beyond I-94 to I-80 and eventually, to the entire interstate highway system. By Labor Day of the same year Ohio and Illinois had joined the effort and with the first multi-state "Handshake Across the Border," Operation C.A.R.E. was on its way to becoming a major nationwide program.

   On March 28, 1978, an Operation C.A.R.E. conference was held at the downtown Hilton Hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana. Hosted by Superintendent Shettle of the Indiana State Police, the conference was attended by representatives from 36 State Police and Highway Patrol agencies, three Governor's Highway Safety Representatives and three representatives of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The attendees enjoyed their stay and formed many new friendships, but this was without a doubt, a working meeting. They structured the organization along the boundaries of the ten NHTSA field regions and established regional data collection procedures. By the time the Operation C.A.R.E. Committee Chairman, Captain Paul J. Ruge, Jr. of the Michigan State Police had adjourned the conference, definite plans and mechanisms were in place for nationwide participation in the program during the 1978 summer holiday season.

   Support for Operation C.A.R.E. was so widespread that within the same year all of the 48 contiguous states became members. The U.S. Department of Transportation immediately endorsed the program and over the next several years NHTSA furnished member states with posters, brochures, bumper stickers coffee cups, placemats and other PI&E materials. Many states applied for and received federal grants for participation. Soon, the membership expanded to include all 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Then in 1986 Operation C.A.R.E. extended its scope beyond the borders of the U.S. states and territories by inviting Canadian participation. To date, Canadian membership includes the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Surête du Quebéc (the Quebec Police Force), with the separate Canadian holidays being officially observed for the first time in 1993.