VIDALIA, La. – Sheriff’s deputies will be working up to 50 hours of overtime on Concordia Parish highways this weekend to crack down on drunk, speeding and unbuckled drivers.

The Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office will be conducting extra traffic patrols until midnight on Monday, said Capt. Doyle Morace.

The crackdown is part of a Louisiana Highway Safety Commission program to place extra patrols on highways throughout the state during the Labor Day weekend.

Funding from the commission also allowed the Sheriff’s Office to place officers on the parish’s highways for 50 extra hours during the July 4 weekend.

&uot;The most important reason for this Holiday Enforcement Campaign is to prevent traffic crashes and the resulting fatalities and injuries during these two summer holiday weekends,&uot; said James Champagne, commission director.

But Sheriff Randy Maxwell said that not all of his department’s patrols will be on the highways.

&uot;We’ll also be concentrating heavily on the lake patrols,&uot;&160;he said.

&uot;There are regulations governing jet skis and boating – particularly involving drinking and boating – and deputies will be out on the lakes watching for problems with these types of things.&uot;

The Natchez Police Department is also planning to increase patrols this weekend.

Officers will be on the look out for reckless driving, starting with Friday afternoon, said Natchez Police Chief Willie Huff.

Police will also being setting up traffic-check points around the city to check for drunk drivers and other driving violations.