Oklahoma roadways see uptick in traffic deaths, report finds

KOSU By Anna Pope

July 31, 2025

Research from a national transportation research nonprofit shows the state has seen higher traffic fatalities in recent years. This comes as the Oklahoma Highway Patrol is urging road safety practices after responding to a series of roadway fatalities across the state last weekend.

Lt. Mark Southall, the OHP’s public information officer, said the agency responded to seven collisions that led to ten deaths and three drownings in the waters it patrols.

“So in almost my 20 years of doing this career in the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, I've never seen such a deadly weekend as what we had last weekend,” Southall said.

As the patrol began to get more calls, he said they wanted to notify the public of the high death rate, remind people to drive safely, remind boaters to wear life jackets and not mix drinking with water activities. In general, Southall said the causes were common laws being broken, like speeding or texting and driving.

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