The Kansas Highway Patrol says the Christmas holiday appeared to be safer on the state’s highways this year than it was last year.

The patrol says it had no fatal crashes to handle from 6 p.m. Friday to 11:59 p.m. Monday. During the same 78-hour Christmas travel period in 2010, the patrol handled two fatal crashes, one of which involved driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

However, the patrol says it worked three DUI-related crashes this year – the same total as in 2010 – and made 22 DUI arrests, up from 13 last year.

Still, the patrol says the number of speeding citations it issued dropped by 12 percent, to 670 in 2011 from 759 in 2010.