You’ll Be Watched This Holiday Weekend

For many, the Fourth Of July cel­e­bra­tion includes alco­hol. That is why the Ohio State High­way Patrol will be out in full force crack­ing down on impaired dri­vers this Fourth of July week­end, which begins today. The zero-tolerance pol­icy is part of the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforce­ment cam­paign aimed at remov­ing impaired dri­vers from the road­ways. Last Fourth of July, the Patrol made 749 OVI arrests from Thurs­day, July 3 through Sun­day, July 6. Dur­ing this time, 11 fatal crashes resulted in 12 deaths. Four crashes were OVI-related. The Patrol is also urg­ing dri­vers to buckle up, as there were 9,580 unbuck­led pas­sen­ger vehi­cle occu­pants killed in crashes in 2013 across the U.S., accord­ing to NHTSA. Dur­ing the 2014 Fourth of July hol­i­day, six of the 12 indi­vid­u­als killed in Ohio were not wear­ing safety belts. Motorists are encour­aged to call #677 to report impaired dri­vers or drug activity.