NATCHEZ &8212; Local authorities and drivers made it through the always dangerous holiday weekend with no fatal traffic accidents, but state troopers reported several.

Officials in Mississippi and Louisiana said the number of traffic stops, accidents and deaths was nothing unusual for the high-traffic time of year.

Troop E of the Louisiana State Police reported two deaths from separate accidents over the long weekend, which began on Wednesday and ended at midnight on Sunday.

The troop, which covers 10 parishes including Concordia, made 21 DWI arrests, three of which involved accidents. The troop also gave out 190 citations for speeding and 74 for seat belt violations.

Though neither fatality was in Concordia Parish, the sheriff&8217;s office always stands ready for holiday traffic, CPSO spokeswoman Kathy Stevens said.

&8220;Weekends, holiday weekends especially, we&8217;re always on alert for whatever might happen,&8221; Stevens said.

&8220;(But) It was pretty quiet.&8221;

The Mississippi Highway Patrol reported a total of 192 accidents statewide, with 15 coming inside the local nine-county Troop M jurisdiction. Of those, one accident proved fatal, killing two people.

Across the state, there were seven fatal accidents that took eight lives. Only one of the victims was wearing a seat belt.

Troop M wrote 362 of the MHP&8217;s 3,452 total tickets for the weekend. Both numbers reflect a nearly 50 percent decrease from the 2004 totals for the same weekend.

That&8217;s not necessarily such a good thing, said Sgt. Rod Crawford, Troop M&8217;s public affairs officer.

He said the call up of military personnel, the deployment of troopers to the hurricane-ravaged coast mean there are fewer troopers on patrol, a problem they were facing anyway as a result of hiring less troopers than it has been losing.

&8220;I can assure you, just as much traffic is out there, just as many violations of law are out there, but we have less uniformed troopers out there working the problem,&8221; he said.

There were five accidents in Adams County, but none were alcohol-related.

Both Adams County Sheriff Ronny Brown and Natchez Police Chief Mike Mullins echoed the CPSO&8217;s report that roads were quiet.

Both Mississippi and Louisiana police warned that the holiday season is just beginning and to be careful driving in order to maximize chances of avoiding accidents and arrest.