AUGUSTA (AP) – Using statistical data, state police are stepping up patrols along some of the state’s most dangerous stretches of highway in an effort to prevent tragedies during a month in which traffic deaths are historically high.

“You’ve got to be putting your assets out where the problems are,” said Maine State Police Col. Craig Poulin. “We’re not running radar where there haven’t been crashes in a couple of years.”

In announcing the new effort Thursday, Poulin said his force has teamed up with the state’s Bureau of Highway Safety and Department of Transportation to analyze enough statistical data to create a map of the most dangerous sections of highway during the summer.

Such areas include stretches of U.S. 1 in Washington County and Route 3 east of the divided highway in South China. “It may be just a one-mile stretch of the road,” he said of the patrol areas.

The enforcement crackdown was set for August because of that month’s historically high traffic death toll.

Maine recorded 90 accident-related deaths during the month of August from 2000-03, according to the Bureau of Highway Safety.

That figure is approximately 11.5 percent of the overall deaths on the state’s highways since 2000.

There have already been four highway deaths this August, and 122 this year. At this time last year, Maine recorded 118 deaths.

The three leading causes of deadly crashes last year were speed, driver inattention and unsafe lane changes, according to the Bureau of Highway Safety.

Poulin said those who encounter aggressive or erratic motorists should get out of their way and, if possible, notify police by dialing 911 on a cell phone.

“Pull over and let the person by,” he said. “You have no idea what’s going through their mind. “Don’t get frustrated and start making gestures.”

AP-ES-08-06-04 0218EDT