7/1/2008 - July 4th is the deadliest day of the year, while July 2nd and 3rd aren't far behind

An insurance industry analysis of data from 1995-2005 revealed that July 4th was the deadliest day of the year, while July 2nd and 3rd weren't far behind. With this year's holiday falling on a Friday, GHSA is particularly concerned that 2008 could be a very deadly Independence Day weekend.

To combat this, GHSA members across the country will be funding increased enforcement efforts focusing on seat belt use, speeding and drunk driving. Given high gas prices, enforcement efforts will be more stationary than normal, but law enforcement will still be out in force.

Please also remind the public that slowing down can increase their gas mileage. Additional details are located here: http://ghsa.org/html/media/pressreleases/2008/2008.05.13.gas.html.

While we are seeing some limited examples of drivers slowing down, in general, the public isn't getting the message. People are driving less, but not slowing down.

Finally, Washington state and California both have new cell phone laws going into effect on July 1. A current list of cell phone laws is posted online at http://ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html.

Jonathan Adkins
Communications Director
Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA)

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