Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Fourth of July counting period started Friday night
COLUMBIA, Mo (KMIZ)
The Missouri State Highway patrol's annual Fourth of July Counting period starts on Friday at 6 p.m. and will run until 11:59 p.m. on the Fourth of July.
The counting period is a way for the departments to track traffic trends on the busy holiday weekend.
"So it gives us an idea of how many thing are going on around a certain troop or around the state in general," said Missouri State Highway Patrol's Corporal Kyle Green.
In 2021 MSHP reported
- 1,139 deaths
- 39 traffic crashes
- 532 injuries
- 80 arrests
- 7 deaths
Green said that reckless driving is one of the leading causes of crashes and injuries during the counting period.
"Well, some of the hazardous moving violations are the ones that lead to crashes. so speeding is always right up at the top. People are just going entirely too fast following too closely would be another one. Unsafe lane changes would probably be the third," said Green.
Distracted driving is another issue Green sees on the roads and advises drivers to put their phone down while they are heading to their destination.
Green says that data help them look for ways to reach its goal of zero fatalities.
"So it gives us an idea of how many things are going on around a certain troop or around the state in general, and like I said ultimately, we're trying to get that number of fatalities down to zero," said Green.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol monitors the local water way's as well, including the Lake of the Ozarks.
In 2021 MSHP reported
- 12 boat crashes
- 8 injuries
- 9 boating while intoxicated arrests
- 1 drowning death
Green said, "On the waterways, there again, you've got people who are operating their vessels while intoxicated, or they're being unsafe in general with the operation of the, of the vessel." Green advises anybody heading to the lake this weekend to plan ahead for both traffic and on the water and to wear a life vest.
In a news release MSHP says, "No matter how you decide to spend the long weekend, your smartest choice is to follow all Missouri traffic and boating laws."
MSHP asks anybody who is in need of assistance, or who witnesses any criminal activity while traveling waterways and roadways in Missouri to contact the Highway Patrol's Emergency Report line at 1-800-525-5555 or *55.
