The roadways are going to be one of the busiest places to be this Fourth of July weekend and its important to stay cautious on the road.
The Fourth of July travel period comes during the 100 Deadliest Days on Idaho roads, the summer days between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends where there is an increase in deadly crashes.
A news release from the Madison County Sheriff's Office says that since Memorial Day weekend this year, at least 39 people have been killed in crashes in Idaho, making safe driving habits crucial to travel.
With the Fourth of July landing on Friday, Lieutenant Cameron Standford says its important to stay alert on the road.
“As far as our saturations this year, were going to have a lot of officers out and about looking for these people that are drinking and driving, especially during the Fourth of July,” Standford said. “So, we’re going to be pulling over people and just checking to make sure they haven’t been drinking and driving.”
Impaired driving is the leading cause of deadly crashes in Idaho, making it a concern for the sheriff’s office. Highway 20 is getting busier, so Stanford says another way to stay safe on the road is to slow down.
“With a lot of our crashes, that’s kind of one of the things that we have people die from, because of the speed,” Stanford said. “Officers will be out there on Highway 20 and other parts of the county enforcing the speed limits. But I mean, we hear it all the time, ‘we were driving down Highway 20 and someone blew by me,’ you know. But people are always welcome to call in if they see something. You've always heard that saying, if you see something, say something.”
Stanford also gave one last tip to get to your destination safely during Idaho’s 100 Deadliest Streaks.
“Paying attention is one thing. We get a lot of distractions nowadays,” Stanford said. “We see a lot of people on their phones and things. So, we need to put down the electronics and stuff and pay attention.”
From now until July 13, law enforcement agencies across the state will dedicate resources to stop drivers under the influence, speeding cars and distracted drivers.
For more information on safe driving, you can visit this website.