Gas prices and safety top concerns this holiday

More than 40 million people will hit the road in the U.S. this holiday weekend.

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — At $4.09 per gallon, $1.25 higher than this time last year, gas prices continue to hit new highs just in time for the Fourth of July.

Last Fourth, about 41 million people took to the roads for the holiday. Bevi Powell, director of communications for AAA East Central, said the number of travelers this year will be cut by about half a million.

“The drop in travelers is due to a combination of gas prices as well as the current state of the economy,” she said. “In past summers we’ve seen record-high gas prices but never a decrease in travel. The difference this year is the high gas coupled with economic lows.”

Despite this, some 40.5 million people are still expected to be on the roads this weekend, and area police departments are going to be ready.

The Mahoning County OVI Task Force had a zero-tolerance blitz for drunken driving set up Thursday night in an area of Mahoning County that is known to have a high rate of intoxicated drivers.

The task force is made up of 14 police departments throughout Mahoning County.

Although no other OVI checkpoints are planned for today, area police departments said they plan to beef up patrols all weekend.

“We will have maximum coverage on the road all weekend long — five to six people per shift,” Lt. Chris Heverly, of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, said. “We’ll be patrolling for speeding, safety belt and impaired-driving violations.”

Mahoning and Trumbull County sheriff’s departments and the Youngstown Police Department will all have extra officers on duty throughout the weekend.

As with any day where increased traffic is a possibility, the safety of those who may be on the roads will be priority.

“Give yourself plenty of time,” Heverly said. “Slow down, and make sure you buckle up because we’ll be watching for that — it’s going to be one of the big focuses.”