The Fourth of July holiday kicks off Friday afternoon – at least for some Missourians. And, the State Highway Patrol will be out in force. The Fourth of July falling on a Tuesday makes this the longest holiday counting period of the year for the State Highway Patrol, which keeps track of accidents and fatalaties on the state’s roads. The period begins at 6 pm Friday and runs through midnight on July 4th. The Patrol’s Captain Chris Ricks expects to see a lot of traffic this weekend, but thinks most Missourians will probably stay closer to home on the holiday, itself. There were seven deaths on Missouri’s highways during last year’s Fourth of July weekend, which lasted three days.
