DANGER IN REST AREAS ON RISE

Visitor safety a growing concern of tourism and transportation officials

Interstate rest stops may be convenient, but they're not always safe.

Growing numbers of crimes reported at rest areas have prompted some states to take steps to help assure motorists who stop at the facilities -- especially during late-night and early-morning hours -- will be safe.

Mississippi and Florida, two heavily traveled states, provide 24-hour security guards, Illinois has installed video cameras in its 27 visitor stops, and most states have the cooperation of state patrols and local authorities to make periodic checks at rest areas.

Rest stop safety has been a growing concern in recent years. A look at crime reports reveals why:

-- An armed gunman held up a truck driver who had stopped at the Interstate 55 rest area north of Fruitland early one December morning.

The trucker was approached by a man who brandished a gun and demanded money.

That truck driver was luckier than some who have made nighttime stops at the nation's visitor centers and rest stops.

-- Two Illinois couples traveling the highway late one weekend night stopped at a rest stop in Southeast Missouri. Three returned to the car and waited for the fourth. Finally, the second man was found in the men's bathroom, where he was being attacked by two men with hammers. The victim escaped with injuries.

-- Another late-night incident, at the New Madrid Visitor Center left a victim dead after a robbery.

-- Other slayings have been reported at rest stops during the 1990s in Northeast Arkansas and Southeast Missouri. Less than two years ago, a traveler was shot to death at a tourist information center just across the Missouri state line, near Blytheville, Ark.

The victim, who had stopped with his wife and daughter at the I-55 rest stop during the evening, was shot during a robbery attempt inside the men's restroom.

Another motorist was killed at a rest stop near Steele, in the Missouri Bootheel.

It's a problem, agree tourism and department of transportation officials.

Missouri Department of Transportation workers are at visitor centers from about 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

During other hours the Missouri State Patrol and local authorities make periodic checks.

At one time, officials closed some of the rest areas at night, placing a gate across the entrance. They were reopened because of numerous complaints.

Recently Mississippi took more drastic action. Nine visitor centers and 11 rest stops along interstate highways have 24-hour security, said a Mississippi Transportation Department spokesman. Mississippi started putting guards at sites in early 1997.

It's an expensive operation, say officials, of the $12 an hour a rest stop cost. That translates into $288 a day for each of the 20 facilities.

Putting a pencil to those statistics translates into $5,760 a day, or about $2.1 million a year.

Illinois has taken another route.

"We have added video cameras to all our buildings at rest stops," he said. "This has cut down on a lot of our break-ins and vandalism problems."

The Illinois transportation department usually has workers at its 47 buildings along the interstate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m..

"During the other eight hours, the Illinois State Patrol and local authorities make periodic rounds of the areas," said Hill.

The state has 26 visitor centers and rest areas. Some of the stops have buildings on either side of the interstate.

"We have a few stops with one building, where motorists have to cross over an interstate overpass to reach the center.

Arkansas also uses video cameras in some rest areas.

Two years ago, following a shooting death and some other problems at rest areas, Arkansas conducted a study.

"We're still looking at some considerations, including the possibility of security guards," said Randy Ort, with the Public Affairs Department of the Arkansas Transportation Department.

"Currently, we have awarded a contract for video surveillance at some rest stops," he said. "We're continuing to look at existing conditions in efforts to come up with some safety factors."

Arkansas has 36 rest areas.