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Here’s the latest evidence that the state of Oklahoma doesn’t have enough money to supply fundamental state services: The Department of Public Safety announced last week that it has limited state troopers to traveling 100 miles a day.

Normally, Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers would travel 150 to 200 miles a day in their ordinary patrols, but because the DPS budget is falling short in a drastic way, the OHP has ordered cutbacks.

DPS Commissioner Michael Thompson says the choice isn’t safe, but it’s safer than the alternative he’s trying to avoid, trooper furloughs.

The OHP also sharply reduced the number of hours its aircraft will be flying and implemented a hiring freeze and a voluntary buyout.

That means there will be fewer troopers on the roster, less enforcement of state traffic laws and, we fear, slower response to emergencies. Other DPS positions, such as driver’s license examiners, also will remain vacant.

It’s hard to imagine how the cutbacks don’t make Oklahoma roads less safe, a toll to be counted in lives lost or damaged and property destroyed.

Blame the Legislature, which short-changed public safety and other essential state services in this year’s state budget.