It’s going to be a long and fun-filled Independence Day weekend.

Make sure you get through it safely.

While Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are the busiest travel times of the year, this weekend is the most dangerous travel time of the summer. Longer hours of sunshine resulting in longer stretches behind the wheel. Drivers paying less attention while enjoying the free-wheeling, relaxed feel of the summer. More fatigued or drunken drivers. Longer travel distances. The difficulties of maneuvering through road construction. Crowded highways. Pleasant scenery. A false sense of security on rural roads. The list of reasons goes on.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says July 4 is the deadliest day for roads in America. The days leading to the Fourth also are deadly. Today, June 30, is Maroon Day for the Minnesota State Patrol. Every trooper and commercial vehicle inspector is on patrol today because, since 2000, more fatal crashes have occurred on June 30 than any other day of the year.

The next time someone says winter is the most dangerous time to be on the road, correct them. Because more drivers are on the road, summer is the most dangerous season to drive, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And summer holidays are the worst.

So stay safe out there. Drive with caution. Don’t become a headline in the newspaper.