MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama State Troopers Association said Tuesday that Alabama has a dangerously low number of state troopers out patrolling and urged lawmakers to put more troopers on the road.

Trooper Association President David Steward said Alabama has roughly one-quarter the number of troopers it needs on the road. He said there are about 250 state troopers patrolling in Alabama. He said studies suggest there should be more than 1,000.

"Seconds count in an accident and troopers are having to cover hundreds of miles," Steward said in a statement. "Often one trooper is handling multiple counties."

Robyn Bradley Bryan, a spokeswoman for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said Tuesday that the state has 268 troopers on the road. Another 10 will graduate from the training academy in May.

The concern about trooper levels is not new. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency in 2015 said trooper staffing was at "critical levels." The agency said then that Alabama should have a minimum of 1,016 troopers, including field supervisors, to properly patrol the state roadways.

The organization for state troopers made the plea on the second week of the 2018 legislative session.