By Michael Huson, The Columbus Dispatch, and wire reports
COLUMBUS – The State Highway Patrol says it is focusing on impaired driving on Ohio’s roadways over the Labor Day holiday weekend, which promises to be a busy one.
Ohioans hitting the road should expect more company, according to AAA and the Ohio Department of Transportation.
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There are two primary reasons for this. First, about 85 percent of travelers on Labor Day weekend — which runs through Monday — historically drive to their destinations, many of them staying within a 300-mile radius of home, said AAA Ohio spokeswoman Kimberly Schwind. That typically means a 10-percent increase in traffic on the state’s interstates and roadways for the Labor Day weekend over other, non-holiday weekends, according to ODOT.
Secondly, the AAA Ohio Auto Club says bookings for hotels and other travel-related purposes in Ohio are up 10 percent over last year, though the exact numbers are proprietary.
Popular out-of-state road trip destinations for the holiday weekend Nashville and Gatlinburg, Tennessee; Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Washington, D.C. and Chicago, according to AAA.
Labor Day is sixth in travel among the six major U.S. holidays each year (the others by calendar are New Year’s, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas), according to ODOT and AAA. But construction adds to the increased potential for congestion and road projects are expected to slow traffic along some of the state’s most popular interstates.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol says enforcement efforts will focus especially on removing drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs from the state’s roads in the reporting period running from 12 a.m. Friday through 11:59 p.m. Monday.
The patrol says 15 people died in 15 fatal crashes in Ohio during the 2016 Labor Day holiday weekend. Four of those fatalities related to operating a vehicle under the influence. The patrol also made 749 OVI arrests that weekend.
Drivers are encouraged to dial 6-7-7 to report impaired drivers and drug activity to the patrol.