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ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- Summer's last hurrah is here with Labor Day weekend, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol is expecting a spike in traffic as families pile in the car for those final road trips before fall.
Lt. Brian McFarland of the St. Clairsville post said the patrol will be looking out for impaired or dangerous driving.
"(Friday) we thought the volume of traffic was up. People are going places. The weather's been nice and it's supposed to be nice for the whole weekend, and we expect they'll be out driving. We've got federal overtime posted for us to check impaired drivers and distracted driving as well as drunk and impaired driving," he said.
"With it being the last major holiday of the summer for us. We've been very fortunate for this year. Our fatal crashes were down. Our traffic crashes were down, and we will continue to push through this last holiday.
"Kids are back in school, but they get a little bit of a long weekend this weekend, so families are going out and celebrating," McFarland continued. "This weekend, the kickoff of a lot of college football. People will be out wanting to root their teams on and celebrate. If people decide they're going to drink and drive, I hope that they don't and that they have a designated driver, but hopefully we can intercept them."
McFarland said Labor Day marks the end of the 100 Deadliest Days of Summer, as the Ohio State Highway Patrol designates the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day, when fatalities typically increase.
As part of the program to combat impaired driving, the highway patrol has had "sobriety checkpoints." The last was Aug. 19.
"It did very well. We saw 1,030 cars through the zone in Martins Ferry on Ohio 7. We intercepted six OVI drivers in that time frame. Other posts in the district also had their checkpoints that were successful as well. The whole thing with checkpoints is we're all trying to prevent it from happening. If we advertise it days in advance, and hopefully deter people from drinking and driving."
He said there have been few accidents so far this year.
"We've had two fatal crashes for the year in Belmont County and zero in Monroe County," he said.
The two fatal incidents in Belmont County occurred in February on Ohio 7 and in May on Ohio 800.
"Both are alcohol-related," McFarland said.
He said the patrol is also planning for more informative outreach to the public on safety measures for all-terrain vehicles.
"We have seen an uptick in crashes involving four-wheelers and side-by-sides, and people having life-changing injuries out of those crashes. A lot of it is poor decisions by parents, allowing young kids to be in these side-by-sides, so hopefully we can educate the public concerning them this holiday season and next year of the safety hazards of driving these side-by-sides on the roadway."
McFarland said the issue can be confusing since some municipalities allow the use of these vehicles, but they cannot be ridden on state routes, county and township roads.
"They're not made for safety on these roads. We're going to continue to push the message to parents not to allow young kids to operate these, and if you're impaired, do not driving them. It's a high risk, and that's what the serious injury crashes that we had using them, alcohol was a factor."
Anyone who sees distracted or reckless driving on the road is asked to call the patrol at #677.
For travelers looking to take longer trips, crowded airports and full flights are expected. Some experts recommend looking into travel insurance, but to look carefully at the details. Should Labor Day plans get canceled, travel companies have ways to assist in picking out new destinations with tools such as Destination Decider or Skyscanner.