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Ohio State Highway Patrol Ready for July 4 in Belmont County

Large numbers of motorists are expected to take to the roads this Independence Day weekend, and Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers will be out in force to help safeguard people looking to enjoy the holiday.

Lt. James Faunda said the patrol has been preparing for heavy traffic.

“With the Fourth of July weekend being four days this year — Friday (today), Saturday, Sunday and Monday — we expect more people to be traveling, because there is that extra time built into the weekend,” he said. “And with gas prices being lower than what they were last year, we expect a lot of people to take to the roadways to visit friends and family.”

Faunda added that 19 troopers will be on local roadways every day for the entire weekend.

“During the holiday weekend, all the troopers here are scheduled to work,” he said, adding that patrol will be proactive in looking for warning signs from drivers.

“The main things that we’re emphasizing this year are impaired drivers, drivers not wearing their safety belts and anybody committing what we refer to as a crash-causing violation,” he said, noting that such violations include excessive speed, reckless driving, weaving in and out of traffic, improper lane changes, and running red lights and stop signs.

He also discussed the potential impact of ongoing road work.

“Most of the construction details that are occurring throughout Belmont County are being placed on hold for the holiday weekend, so therefore there will be no work going on in these areas,” he said. “The interstates are set up so that traffic will still be able to flow smoothly in both directions with two lanes. Obviously, troopers will be working those sections because they are reduced-speed zones and motorists will need to reduce their speed because of how narrow the lanes are.”

Faunda noted that festive events prove both a draw and a danger for families intent on enjoying the holiday.

“July 4 is one of the busier weekends because of the festivities that go on. Different fireworks shows — some people try to hit two or three different fireworks displays throughout the weekend, so we expect more people to be traveling locally once they reach this area,” he said. “But we are expecting more impaired drivers to be on the roadway this weekend, just because there are a lot of evening festivities, whereas on Memorial Day or Labor Day, that’s generally just a break or a vacation. The Fourth of July is something people actually celebrate, so we do expect there to be more impaired drivers.”

He added that 1,600 troopers across the state are scheduled to work on the holiday weekend.

“Because we’re so visible and because people see us out there making traffic stops, that tends to reduce the number of traffic crashes that they have,” he said.

Faunda advised drivers to exercise care and caution.

“If you’re going to consume alcohol, have a designated driver because we are going to be looking for impaired drivers. That’s our No. 1 goal this week, and it’s to remove impaired drivers from the roadway,” he continued.

Faunda noted that anyone who sees someone believed to be an impaired driver should call #677.

“That will ring into a highway patrol post, and we can send a a trooper to investigate what’s going on,” he said, adding that this number is active year-round and covers a broad range of suspicious activity. “They can report drug activity, suspicious activity and impaired drivers.”

He said last year troopers from the St. Clairsville post issued 700 violations in the four days of the July 4 weekend.

“We are out there, working hard and trying to slow the public down and make the travel safer,” Faunda concluded. “The No. 1 goal is zero traffic fatalities.”

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