One OHP trooper’s advice following a deadly weekend on Oklahoma's roads

The number of lives lost over the weekend on Oklahoma roads and waterways reached 16. Five of the victims were children. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol reminded drivers to limit distractions and drive defensively.  

Oklahoma drivers are more distracted behind the wheel 

OHP Lt. Mark Southall said crashes happen due to a variety of factors. However, he said the average Oklahoma driver’s abilities have fallen behind the curve. Southall said distracted driving and unlawful choices have cost lives. 

Troopers face difficult conversations after fatal crashes 

For OHP Troopers, a few steps are heavier than a walk to a family’s door after a deadly crash. 

“It’s hard,” Southall said. “It definitely doesn’t leave you.”  

As an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper on Oklahoma’s roads for two decades, Southall said he carried fatal news to people’s doors too many times. He has delivered news that someone's loved one wouldn’t make it home. 

“It’s the hardest thing that any trooper across the state will tell you, is the hardest part of our job,” he said.  

Oklahoma had an above-average deadly weekend on its roads 

Oklahoma troopers, deputies, and officers responded to 16 fatalities, including one drowning, in three days from August 22-24.  

“This is definitely higher than what we would say the average is,” Southall said. “Some of these people were victims of other people doing something wrong.”  

Following traffic laws and watching speed are critical to reducing crashes 

Southall offered advice that requires little effort, but he said it can make a big difference. 

“Avoiding distractions. maintaining safe distances; using their signals,” Southall said. 

Southall added that drivers should be mindful of their speed during weather changes and allow enough time to arrive at their destinations. 

“We have very few collisions when laws are followed,” Southall said. “You can’t have your head buried in your phone and expect to be driving safe.”  

The alternative is a walk Southall prefers not to take.  

“The worst one I've ever made was letting a college-age girl know that both of her parents died in a car crash from a drunk driver that hit them head-on,” Southall said.

Southall said drivers carry the responsibility to correct a deadly trend on the state's roads. He said responsible drivers limit the steps taken for a trooper to deliver irreversible news. 

“We just want people to drive safe,” Southall said. “We just get back to the basics of driving. I think we can see some of these fatalities across Oklahoma go down.”