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Twin Falls police encourage safe driving ahead of the holiday weekend

Posted at 5:02 PM, Jun 30, 2022
and last updated 2022-06-30 19:02:27-04

TWIN FALLS, Idaho — The Twin Falls Police Department urges those traveling this holiday weekend to stay focused while driving.

Simple distractions like texting, talking with passengers, checking GPS, or changing a song on the radio can lead to crashes on the road. Most traffic accidents are caused by inattentive driving where the person operating the vehicle gets distracted.

Idaho is currently in the "100 deadliest days of summer" when it comes to fatal crashes on Idaho roads. Last year during this time 92 people died from crashes in Idaho.

“Ya know, limit your interactions with other things going on in your vehicle like Music, videos, or passenger interactions,” said Officer Chris Ehardt of the Twin Falls Police Department.

Ehardt also said the most common traffic infraction he sees on the road is distracted driving.

"I think one of the biggest things we see is inattentive driving, so people that are on their cell phones or using GPS," he said. "They are doing different things rather than paying attention to what's in front of them, or what's behind them or what's to the side of them."

If you do plan to consume alcohol over the holiday, be sure to have a plan in place to avoid impaired driving.

“We want to limit that with driving as well right, so if you are going to be drinking make sure that you have a plan for that too. You have a ride home or you're going to stay where you are at so that we don’t have those kinds of issues,” said Ehardt.

The Twin falls Police Department will be a part of a grant funded impaired driving enforcement this independence weekend to ensure the safety of those in the Magic Valley.