All who plan to celebrate the 4th of July with alcohol are reminded to never get behind the wheel of a vehicle while intoxicated. Lt. Paul Haase says the Pella Police Department and other local and state agencies will have extra officers on the road to make them safer during the holiday, starting Wednesday and continuing through Sunday. Nationally, during the 2017 July 4th holiday period–the most recent statistics available, 601 people died in motor vehicle crashes. During that same time there were four fatalities on Iowa roads. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 60 percent of those who died in alcohol related crashes in the national were in vehicles involving a driver with a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of .15 or higher, almost twice the legal limit of .08. Haase reminds all who plan to drink alcohol for 4th of July celebrations to make a plan to get home safely by having a designated driver, calling a taxi, or other rideshare service, or make plans to stay overnight.