The highway patrol is asking the public to make safety a priority for the upcoming Christmas holiday counting period. Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the patrol, encourages you to obey all traffic laws, drive sober, make sure your vehicle is in good working condition, keep an eye on the weather and to pay attention to the roadways. Last year’s counting period for the Christmas holiday included a weekend and spanned 108 hours. In the end, there were 11 people killed and 421 others injured along with 106 people busted for driving while impaired. This year the counting period will span only 30 hours officially starting at 6-PM on Tuesday and coming to an end at 11:59 Christmas night.