Missouri State Highway Patrol urges caution during ‘100 Deadliest Days’
JOPLIN, Mo. — Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, and it can also be a very serious time.
“Kids aren’t in school so they’re out driving more than they used to be. You know, trying to have fun, but sometimes fun turns into something dangerous,” said Missouri State Highway Patrol Corporal Sam Carpenter.
Traffic safety experts refer to the period from Memorial Day to Labor Day as the “100 deadliest days” due to a significant increase in fatal crashes across the country.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol – those deadly crashes can be linked to several factors.
“Most of our fatalities, yeah, they have, they have to do speed is our number one contributing factor to a serious injury and death in the state. It always has been and it probably always will be. You know, the faster you go, the worse your injuries are going to be. And that’s that’s just simple physics. And the second thing we’re seeing a lot now and more prevalently is being distracted,” said Carpenter.
Corporal Sam Carpenter says he sees distracted driving fatal crashes among every age group – but especially among young drivers.
“Teen drivers are out covering more miles this time of year. You know, they’ve got an extra 8 hours a day now through the week that they normally would spend in school. And so, you know, either through boredom or they’re they’ve got places they’ve got to be in and they’re not as experienced as some of our other drivers. Bad things happen and they happen quick,” said Carpenter.
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AAA estimates more than 43 million people will hit the roads for Memorial Day weekend – meaning it’s even more important to be safe.
“The biggest tips we can tell people is just is take your time to slow down. You know, it is summer. If you’re traveling through our state, you’re probably on your way to a vacation. You’re on your way to a destination. You know, we want you to get to your destination safely to just take your time. You know, if you’re running behind, don’t try to make up your time with speed. You know, get where you’re going on time by leaving early or not driving faster. It never works out well for anybody,” said Carpenter.
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