Ohio State Highway Patrol Provides Tips and Recommendations for Holiday Travel

MUSKINGUM COUNTY, Ohio- Christmas is this Saturday and the Ohio State Highway Patrol is encouraging those who are traveling to stay safe.

According to Ohio State Highway Patrol Sergeant Jeffrey Jirles, there have been 336 OVI arrests in Muskingum County. That’s 87 more arrests than last year.

“Our troopers will be focusing on a lot of OVI enforcement, operating a vehicle while impaired, and that might be under the influence of alcohol, might be under the influence of drugs. We’re seeing an upward trend in the number of OVI arrests this year over last,” Sergeant Jirles stated.

This will also be the first Christmas and New Year the community has to deal with major road constructions, which may cause some accidents.

Sergeant Jirles said their number one recommendation for traveling this week is to plan ahead.

“We’re expecting some significant amounts of traffic and we may experience some accidents in that area so plan ahead with that. The other thing is, if you have to get togethers with your families, friends, workers, plan ahead, be responsible, make good decisions and have someone that you can call,” Sergeant Jirles said.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is also encouraging the community to download the OHGO app at OHGO.com, where you can see the real time traffic through the construction project. This way people are able to know what to expect and save time before going out to their holiday event.