According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 13,384 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2021 that involved an alcohol-impaired driver.

This represented 31% of all traffic fatalities in the United States for the year, and a 14.2% increase from 2020. That same year, 538 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes over the July Fourth holiday period (6 p.m. July 2 to 5:59 a.m. July 6). Of those, 39% (212) occurred in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes.

With many Fourth of July festivities wrapping up in the evening or late at night, more cars are on the roads at night. Over the 2021 July Fourth holiday period, of the 212 people who died in alcohol-impaired motor vehicle traffic crashes, 82% of those fatalities occurred in nighttime crashes (6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.).

“During the July Fourth holiday, we’ll pull over and arrest drunk drivers,” said officer Joel Gulla, Lehighton Police Department and Carbon County Coordinator for the North Central Regional DUI Enforcement Program.

“We’re showing zero tolerance. Everyone knows the law: It is illegal to drink and drive. Still, people test the waters and drive after a few too many. We know how to spot a drunk driver on the road. Drunk driving is selfish and arrogant, and it endangers the drivers, their passengers, and other people on the road.”

This Fourth of July and every day, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. For more information on impaired driving, visit www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving.