For the 25th consecutive year, the Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association of Kansas (PMCA) donated gasoline to the Kansas Highway Patrol to fill up patrol cars during the holidays. Through the Holiday Highways Safety Program, the PMCA donates fuel to the Patrol to fill up patrol cars from Dec. 24 through Jan. 1. The donation will be of great assistance at a time when budgets continue to be tight.
“For many years now, PMCA’s Holiday Highways Safety Program has worked to help motorists in Kansas make it safely to their holiday destinations,” said Tom Palace, Executive Director of PMCA of Kansas. “Through their participation in this one-of-a-kind program, fuel distributors and convenience stores are voluntarily partnering with the Kansas Highway Patrol to ensure the safety of their customers, their families, and the many visitors traveling to and through Kansas over the holidays.”
“For the 25th consecutive year, PMCA of Kansas has graciously provided tanks of fuel to the Kansas Highway Patrol. This fuel will go towards our personnel who are working the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, and who are committed to keeping Kansas roadways safe,” said Lieutenant Adam Winters, KHP public information officer. “One of the most important things during the holiday season is getting the opportunity to spend time with friends and loved ones. The donation received from the PMCA of Kansas has definitely helped us to assist motorists in those efforts.  As always, we want to thank PMCA for their continued support of our agency.”
The PMCA of Kansas is a nonprofit organization for independent petroleum distributors, gasoline retailers, and convenience store owners. This year, participating members of the PMCA graciously provided vouchers for 70 tanks of fuel for troopers to use as they patrol the highways this holiday season.
Last year, during the 2014 Christmas and 2015 New Year’s reporting periods, the provided fuel allowed the Patrol to assist 2,140 motorists, remove 43 impaired drivers from the roadways, and issue 253 citations for occupant protection violations.  The donation last year no doubt contributed to the Patrol’s efforts to keep the roadways safe during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. This year, it will help further safety efforts during the holiday season.