I expect as children most of us were deep into “the countdown.” How many days until our birthday? How many days until Christmas or another favorite holiday? How many days left until school is out?
The anticipation could be intense as we looked forward to the pleasure of gifts, of family gatherings or of freedom from the classroom for a few months.
As traffic safety professionals, we face an annual a countdown that’s far more concerning than exciting – the 100 Most Dangerous Days on our roads.
We’re now just a few weeks from Memorial Day, the official start of the summer season. That means for more than three months – from Memorial Day through Labor Day – there are more drivers on the road for vacations or lake weekends, and there’s lots of roadway construction. Unfortunately, there’s also an increase in risky driving behaviors like driving while impaired by alcohol or other substances, distractions, speed and road rage. During this period in 2024, a preliminary count of more than 140 people lost their lives in crashes. That number exceeded 160 in 2023, with the 100-day period accounting for 40% of the year’s crash deaths.
It’s easy to be filled with dread as the summer driving season approaches. But I think positive anticipation around what we CAN do is a far better approach. We can use these 100 days to optimistically embrace opportunities available to educate on the consequences of risky driving behaviors. Law enforcement will be amping up citations for those driving under the influence, speeding or distracted. There are numerous resources available at DriveSafeMN to help share this story with your employees, family members and friends.
It won’t be easy but together we can make progress that helps turn these summer months into the 100 Safest Days on our roads.
Yours in traffic safety,
Lisa
MN NETS Coordinator
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