CLEVELAND — The Ohio State Highway Patrol is urging drivers to be safe this Labor Day weekend. Troopers will focus enforcement efforts on removing impaired drivers from Ohio’s roadways.
The Labor Day weekend marks the end of the “100 deadliest days,” a period of time spanning from Memorial Day to Labor Day that marks the most dangerous on the roadways.
After a spike in deadly crashes last year over the weekend, troopers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol are asking drivers to prepare and plan ahead.
During the 2020 Labor Day holiday weekend, there were 13 fatal crashes which killed 15 people. Ten of those fatalities involved alcohol and/or drugs, while six fatalities were unbelted. Troopers also made 545 impaired driving arrests during last year’s holiday weekend.
The 100 days only represent 27% of the calendar year, but they account for more than one-third of all fatal traffic crashes and deaths.
“Any time you see traffic fatalities and numbers that are that large, it's alarming,” said Sgt. Ray Santiago of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. “Each one of those is a family that has to deal with a tragedy. So when you see those numbers and those increases, especially in a year where we saw decreased traffic on the roadways, that was especially alarming.”
The 2021 Labor Day weekend reporting period begins Friday, Sept. 3 at 12 a.m. and ends Monday, Sept. 6 at 11:59 p.m.
Motorists are encouraged to dial #677 to report impaired drivers and drug activity to the Patrol.
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