It may be the best holiday of the year: There are no gift-buying pressures, it’s warm and fireworks punctuate the day.

But the Fourth of July isn’t all fun and games. Unfortunately, it’s the most deadly driving holiday of the year, according to the National Center of Statistics and Analysis (NCSA).

The reasons are obvious. July Fourth falls in the middle of the summer driving season; there are plenty of parties and plenty of alcohol.

Those facts are not lost on Sublette County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) Captain Mike Peterson.

That’s one reason the SCSO is gearing up for its busy season.

“Starting this weekend, we start a three- or four-week stretch where we deny vacation requests,” he said. “We have everybody available.”

According to an NCSA study of driving deaths, July 4 tallied 4,320 fatalities and July 3 tallied 3,898 fatalities from 1978 to 2002, making those days the nation’s deadliest.

In fact, the study shows a steady escalation of driving fatalities from Jan. 2 to July 2 with a significant spike on July 3 and 4. From there, fatalities steadily decrease until the Christmas holiday period around Dec. 23.

In 1981 and in 1997, the Fourth claimed more lives on American roads than any other day of that year with 260 and 186 fatalities respectively.

Compounding those studies is one done by the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) that shows July as the deadliest month and Saturday as the deadliest day on Wyoming roads. The Fourth falls on Saturday this year.

And a third of driving fatalities are alcohol related.

In 2007, the highest numbers of intoxicated drivers involved in a fatal crash were between the ages of 25 and 34. Of those, the vast majority were men.

Regardless of a driver’s demographics, the SCSO wants everybody to know this holiday’s driving is best left to sober drivers.

And sober for drivers 21 and over means a blood alcohol content of less than 0.08 percent, which can be reached with no more than two drinks.

The legal limit for drivers under 21 is 0.00.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol will be also out in force as it participates in a nationwide campaign with a special emphasis on alcohol and drug-related driving offenses.

With the average penalty for a DUI between $12,000 and $22,000 nationally, tempting fate is an expensive proposition.

But a deadly accident defies monetary expense, and Captain Peterson says a fatality is just as gruesome on a holiday weekend as it is during a regular weekend.

He explained the SCSO wants everybody to have fun but they also want everybody to be in one piece when they get home.

“It’s a special weekend,” he said. “But not so special that the laws don’t apply.”