Virginia State Police reminds residents to keep safety in mind for the Fourth of July holiday

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia State Police (VSP) sends a reminder to residents to keep safety in mind with the Fourth of July holiday coming up.

To many citizens, the Fourth of July means festivities, food, and fireworks, but state police would like to remind residents to focus on safety and sobriety.

According to VSP, the 2024 summer driving season started off deadly with 25 deaths in the week after Memorial Day, when there were 13 deaths from the year before.

“We want to be able to say that this was one of the safest July 4 holidays ever on Virginia’s roads,” said Colonel Gary T. Settle, Superintendent of Virginia State Police.  “In order to do that, we are going to need all Virginians to drive sober, avoid distractions, comply with posted speed limits, and buckle up.”

State police suggests that if you are drinking on July 4th, plan ahead and arrange a designated drive or use a taxi or rideshare service, like Uber and Lyft.

In efforts to reduce traffic-related deaths and increase safety on Virginia highways during the Fourth of July, VSP will collaborate with authorities around the country for Operation Crash Awareness Reduction Effort (CARE).

CARE is a state-sponsored, national program that aims to reduce crashes, deaths and injuries due to impaired driving, speeding or not wearing a seatbelt.

The Operation CARE initiative will start at midnight on Wednesday, July 3 and end at midnight on Sunday, July 7. These days are expected to be the busiest days to travel.

During the July 4th holiday in 2023, VSP said they have investigated a total of 377 traffic crashes, 392 disabled and stranded drivers, as well as seven traffic-related deaths.

State police would like to also remind residents to follow the “Move Over” law, which requires drivers to move over a lane or if you’re not able to, then slow down, for cars that are in the emergency shoulder lane with flashing lights, emergency triangles or flares.

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