Reminder: This is a deadly holiday weekend on Iowa’s roads

As Iowans prepare for the July Fourth weekend, state officials are urging caution on the roads. .

The July Fourth weekend is one of the deadliest in terms of traffic fatalities.

'What we see quite often, with the celebration comes the use of alcohol and then, unfortunately, impaired driving,” said Patrick Hoye of the Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau.

Last year, 164 people died nationwide in crashes that involved at least one driver with a blood alcohol percentage of 0.08 or higher, the level at which intoxication is presumed, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Iowa saw zero traffic fatalities over the three-day weekend last year.

'That is extremely rare in the state,” Hoye said. 'Normally, we'll lose three to four during that holiday, so last year was truly the exception.”

Hoye said the goal this year is a repeat of last year.

Toward that end, the Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau provides close to 180 Iowa law enforcement entities - the Iowa State Patrol, city police and sheriff's offices - with extra funding so they can pay overtime and put more officers on the roads.

The added law enforcement presence, he said, acts as a deterrent to unsafe actions.

While impaired driving is a main concern, distracted driving and driving while drowsy also can lead to fatal crashes, Hoye said.

A total of 320 traffic fatalities occurred in Iowa last year, one of the lowest totals on record, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation.

However, the state is seeing a spike in traffic fatalities this year. The 175 deaths. as of Thursday. is a 34 percent increase from the same time period last year.

'It is certainly for us a very alarming trend,” Hoye said. 'We're really trying to take a look at all of the crash data that's coming in and trying to figure out how we can go about reversing that horrible number.”

Hoye said a statewide task force - with traffic experts, advocates, prosecutors and law enforcement officials - is meeting and aiming to present recommendations later this summer.