Picnics, boating, camping and time spent with family and friends and, of course, fireworks, are some of the activities area residents travel to for July 4th celebrations. But for too many people, the annual celebration is filled with tragedy as it is the deadliest holiday period of the year on roads and highways.
That’s why Oregon State Police, county sheriff’s deputies and city police officers will focus on stopping drivers before they become involved in a crash or incident.
With a main focus on impaired drivers, law enforcement in Oregon and nationwide will again be cracking down with an aggressive “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest” enforcement blitz for Friday, July 1 through Monday, July 4.
Statistics over the past 25 years in Oregon show that nearly half of all Fourth of July holiday period traffic fatalities were in alcohol-involved crashes.
Similar statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that, on average, nearly half of all deadly national traffic crashes over the holiday period involved some level of alcohol.
Nearly 300 people have died on Oregon’s roads during the Fourth of July holiday period since 1970. Last year, three people died in two separate fatal traffic crashes in Oregon. Recent national statistics show during the 2009 Fourth of July holiday weekend, 410 people were killed in traffic crashes.
