With fireworks now legal in Iowa, there will be even more celebrating for the Fourth of July and the preceding weekend. Unfortunately, that celebrating too often includes misuse of alcohol, which may lead to drunk driving.
Because the high fatality rate over recent Fourth of July holidays, there will be additional law enforcement on Iowa’s roads as well as the entire nation. The Dallas County Sheriff’s office will have extra deputies on patrol for traffic enforcement from June 27 to July 11.
Overtime pay for these extra Dallas County patrol officers is covered by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau.
The most recent nationwide data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that over the 2015 Fourth of July holiday — from 6 p.m. July 2 until 6 a.m. July 6 — 146 people were killed in crashes involving at least one vehicle operator with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher.
In those same crashes, 92 people died in wrecks involving at least one operator with a BAC of .15 or higher – almost twice the legal limit.
In Iowa there were five fatalities in 2015. Three were alcohol-related deaths. In 2016 another five died, with four alcohol related.
Nationwide, the overall number of drunk-driving traffic fatalities increased by three percent, from 9,943 in 2014 to 10,265 in 2015. That works out to one person killed every 51 minutes or the equivalent of 20 jumbo jets crashing with no survivors.
It is never okay to drink and drive. With all of today’s options for getting home safely — designate a sober driver before the festivities begin, call a cab or Uber or local transportation alternatives — there is no excuse to drive after drinking.
Don’t risk endangering yourself or your loved ones.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau remind you to Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over!
For more information, call Dallas County Deputy Sheriff Sgt. Ryan Bowers at 515-993-4567.
