Idaho’s ‘100 deadliest days’ claimed 82 lives in traffic fatalities

By Reader Staff 

The stretch between Memorial Day through Labor Day is known as a beautiful period of time in the Gem State, but the Idaho Office of Highway Safety has a different name for it: the “100 Deadliest Days,” during which statewide traffic collisions and fatalities spike.

OHS claimed that its preliminary data from this year’s “100 Deadliest Days” shows 82 people were killed during that period in Idaho traffic collisions, down slightly from 93 people killed year over year. During the entire year so far, 156 people have died in traffic crashes, compared to 165 last year, which was the deadliest year for traffic crashes in Idaho in more than a decade.

The agency points to several factors that contributed to crashes during the period, including speeding, alcohol impairment, failure to yield, crossing the centerline, following too close, drug impairment and others.

OHS separated the data into districts and counties, showing that three deaths occurred in Bonner County and two in Boundary County during the “100 Deadliest Days.” Ada and Bonneville counties both had the most deaths at nine each, while Kootenai County contributed five deaths to the total.

“While there were fewer crashes than last summer, we still lost 82 people during the ‘100 Deadliest Days,’” stated Highway Safety Manager Josephine Middleton. “Every traffic death is a tragedy, and we can do more to prevent them. Whether we are driving for work or fun, we can always drive engaged, always drive sober and obey speed limits so that we don’t lose more Idahoans to traffic crashes.”