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The Iowa State Patrol has a new weapon in its arsenal. A Cessna Skylane 182 it has purchased will be used in holiday traffic enforcement.

"It's very important for the safety to Iowa's state troopers to have equipment that's in good condition," Col. Robert O. Garrison said in a prepared statement. "That's even more acutely obvious when the equipment is thousands of feet above the ground. We owe a big thanks to our state legislature and Gov. [Chet] Culver for helping fund the purchase of this plane."

The Cessna carried a price tag of almost $350,000 and will be housed in Waterloo. Troopers will use the plane to observe speeding, illegal passing and stop sign violations. It will also be used to assist in emergency blood and tissue match relays and to assist in search and rescue operations.

Independence Day is one of the deadliest days on Iowa highways, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety. Because of this the new Cessna and other aircraft will be used during the holiday to enforce traffic laws.

In addition, over the next week, troopers will participate in the national program Combined Accident Reduction Effort. The program encourages state police agencies to enforce traffic laws on major interstates across the country. As a part of this program in 2006 the Iowa State Patrol investigated 27 accidents (four fatal), netted 34 operating while under the influence arrests, wrote 2,973 speeding citations, handed out 530 seat belt citations and cited 601 other moving violations.

Officers will also participate in the special Traffic Enforcement Project beginning today and continuing through Friday. Through the program local, county and state agencies will combine efforts to focus on seat belt enforcement.