7 fatalities on Idaho roads in 9 days

In a span of 9 days there were 7 fatalities on Idaho roads.

The Idaho Transportation Department said the 100 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day are the deadliest time for crashes.

Lt. Chris Weadick with the Idaho State Police said that’s even more worrisome with the trends he’s seeing in Eastern Idaho.

He said a lack of seat belt usage is causing avoidable injuries and deaths. He also said drivers are paying less attention to the road and more attention to their phones.

“The weather’s hot, people are running late, they’re trying to get from point A to point B,” said Weadick. “There’s a lot more traffic out here that are traveling to these events, and people are getting a little grumpy when they’re driving. They become distracted, they become aggressive and we’re seeing a lot of crashes as a result of that.”

Despite those 100 days representing only 28 percent of the year, the Office of Highway Safety said those days accounted for 40 percent of deadly crashes in 2012.