Four cars were damaged when a student union employee swerved into the parking lot of The Wesley Foundation. No one was injured in the accident.
By David Schulte
(MCT) — Authorities consider the Fourth of July one of the deadliest days for motorists.
Thousands of Americans will be traveling this weekend to celebrate the Fourth of July, but for hundreds of families, the holiday will become tragic.
National highway and public safety agencies consider July Fourth to be one of the deadliest days of the year on the nation’s roads, largely because of the number of motorists traveling. That number is expected to be more than 42 million this year, Tulsa Police Officer Craig Murray said.
Recent national statistics show that more than a third of the deaths on the holiday were attributed to drunken driving.
During the 2006 holiday vacation period, which began June 30 and ended July 5, 659 traffic-related deaths occurred in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Of that number, 37 percent involved a motorist with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 or higher, exceeding the legal limit in all states.
Last year, two traffic deaths occurred in Oklahoma during a 30-hour period around the Fourth of July, according to the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office.
One of those crashes was alcohol- or drug-related, and the other involved
a driver who was not wearing a seat belt, the agency reported.
When the holiday lands on the weekend, as it does this year, traffic fatalities tend to be higher, a spokeswoman for the office said.
Tulsa has been fortunate in that the number of local traffic fatalities during the July Fourth holiday period has been reduced in recent years, Murray said.
No traffic deaths occurred in Tulsa during the holiday last year, and a total of three occurred during the holiday in the last seven years, he said.
“With it considered the deadliest holiday for driving, that’s not too bad,” Murray said.
Tulsa police will pay close attention to the roads this holiday weekend in an effort to make sure that motorists obey traffic laws.
“It will be a full complement of officers out there,” Murray said.
So far, local traffic fatalities are up for the year compared with last year. Twenty-one people have died on Tulsa roads through June 14, compared with 17 during the same period last year.
But statewide, traffic fatalities are down by 38 through the first six months of the year, with 318 deaths through June and 356 during the same period last year, Murray said.
Wearing seat belts remains the most effective way of preventing deaths and injuries from motor-vehicle collisions, according to the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety.
When seat belts are used properly, the risk of a fatal injury to front-seat passengers is reduced by 45 percent, and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury is reduced by 65 percent, the group reports.
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