The Jefferson police department will be part of a special Traffic Enforcement Project (sTEP) July 1-4. Increased officers on all Iowa’s roadways will focus on drunk driving and seat belt usage.
Independence Day celebrations increase road use and the possibility of increased alcohol consumption. An analysis by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety showed that on average, more people die in motor vehicle crashes on July 4 than any other single day of the year. The study found that motorcycles and alcohol were both big factors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2016 (the most recent year for which data is available), 188 people were killed in crashes involving at least one driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.8 or more. This is a 28 percent increase from 2015, when there were 146 fatalities.
Nearly half of those who died were in a vehicle crash involving at least one driver or motorcycle operator with a BAC of .15 or more, almost twice the legal limit.
In Iowa there were five fatalities in 2016, of which four were alcohol-related. There were four fatalities in 2017, with one being alcohol-related.
