Crashes up, DUIs down during Memorial Day weekend
By Anthony Hennen | The Center Square
(The Center Square) — Driving in Pennsylvania during Memorial Day weekend 2024 was significantly riskier than last year as crashes, fatalities and injuries all rose.
Pennsylvania State Police reported 756 total crashes and 181 people injured during the holiday. Six people died across five accidents. Compared to 2023, crashes were up 16% when the PSP reported 651.
DUI arrests, however, fell by almost 15% from 547 in 2023 to 467 in 2024. Speeding citations were also down to about 8,800, an 18% drop.
The statistics are not all-encompassing, however; incidents that other local police agencies responded to are not included.
PSP-investigated crashes during Memorial Day weekend have dropped in recent years. In 2022, the highway patrol reported 775 crashes with three deaths and 191 injuries, and 844 crashes, eight deaths, and 183 injuries in 2021.
State Police didn’t collect Memorial Day crash data in 2020, but crashes tend to range between 700-900 according to some pre-pandemic data.
Recruiting more state troopers has been a struggle in recent years. Trooper vacancies routinely surpass 200, but efforts to remove the college degree requirement to be a state trooper has led to a surge in cadet applications.
