Iowans who plan to do any traveling over the Fourth of July holiday weekend can expect to see a few more police officers on the road.
Patrick Hoye with the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau says a “drive sober or get pulled over” campaign is scheduled for July 1st through the morning of the 5th.
“We provide additional overtime funding for officers, so you will see additional officers out during this holiday period,” Hoye says. The focus of the campaign is to remove drunk drivers from the roads, but Hoye says he hopes all drivers will also obey speed limits and buckle up. He says last year was unusual as there were no fatalities over the three-day holiday weekend.
“July Fourth is typically one of the most dangerous driving times for Iowans, so last year we were fortunate that there were no fatalities,” Hoye says. But, in 2014, seven people were killed on Iowa roadways and one was alcohol related. And in 2013, six people were killed on Iowa roadways over the Independence Day holiday and three of those crashes were alcohol related.
“Unfortunately, that’s typically what we see of the Fourth of July…that alcohol plays a large part in those fatalities,” Hoye said.
Nationwide, over the three-day holiday last year, 164 people were killed in crashes involving a least one driver who was legally drunk behind the wheel. That’s according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.