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4th of July 

We love to celebrate the 4th of July with family, friends, food, and fireworks. Yet, all too often the festivities turn tragic on our nation's roads. This American holiday is also one of the most dangerous holidays of the year due to impaired-driving crashes.

  • 538 people died in motor vehicle crashes over the July 4th holiday period in 2021. 38% (212) of those fatalities occurred in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes.
  • From 2017 to 2021, there were 1,460 drivers killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes over the 4th of July holiday period. 38% (552) of the drivers killed during those years were alcohol-impaired (with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher), and nearly half (44%) of the drivers killed aged 21-34 were drunk.

Please plan ahead when you're celebrating this 4th of July weekend and have a sober driver. Drive Well Vermont. 

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To learn more, please visit NHTSA.gov.

Grant Electronic Application and Reporting System (GEARS)

Click here to go to GEARS (for current subgrantees or agencies interested in applying for a grant with the SHSO). 

Operations and Safety Bureau Data Dashboard

Click here to see current crash data from the OSB Data and Analysis Unit. 

Our Mission Statement

Achieve progress “Toward Zero Deaths” by reducing the number of crashes, injuries, and fatalities on Vermont's roads and to provide highway safety data and fact-based analyses that will assist communities and safety advocates in implementing effective programs that will change high-risk driving behavior and increase safety on our streets and highways.

Where We Are Located

The Vermont State Highway Safety Office is located within the Agency of Transportation's Highway’s Division, Office of Operations and Safety Bureau, Dill Building, Unit A, 2178 Airport Road, Barre, VT 05641.

What We Do

The Vermont State Highway Safety Office (SHSO) awards federal highway safety grant funds to local, state and non-profit agencies for projects to improve highway safety and reduce deaths and serious injuries due to crashes. The SHSO is also involved with the Vermont Highway Safety Alliance (VHSA) which has allowed us to build upon a network of highway safety professionals, working in collaboration to increase highway safety through these federally funded programs.

The SHSO has an in-house staff of three Program Coordinators with specific subject matter areas of expertise, to include Occupant Protection, Distracted Driving, Impaired Driving, Law Enforcement (DUI and OP Enforcement) and Education Outreach programs. The staff of the SHSO manages state highway safety grant funds by providing guidance, oversight and monitoring for our partners. 

The programs administered through the SHSO are federally funded through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Our programs are defined and approved each year in the SHSO Highway Safety Plan (HSP) and align with the State’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP). Through these plans, we analyze data, identify problems, define emphasis areas, and set goals in order to administer funds to programs in a responsible manner in accordance with federal guidelines. 

The Vermont State Highway Safety Office programs are designed to educate drivers, passengers, pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists about highway safety. Our programs employ the use of countermeasures that focus primarily on the modification of driver’s behavior and attitude.