The common perception is that unsafe roads accompany the ringing in of the New Year, but by all indications it was a relatively quiet weekend in Lawrence County.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol reported five driving under the influence arrests between Dec. 30 and Jan. 1. The patrol also investigated around 10 crashes over the weekend, all of which were minor. A few included minor injuries.

Ten crashes may sound like a lot, but Sgt. John Smith from the Ohio State Highway Patrol said that is relatively common.

“There were no serious crashes, all minor and kind of scattered out through the county, but nothing serious or major injuries,” he said.

Although New Year’s Eve can still be a hazardous time for drivers, Smith said he believes that the diligence of law enforcement is helping to make the roads safer.

“They know that we’re going to be out in force on weekends like that, and I think people plan for this, New Year’s, a lot of them have overnight parties where they’re not out on the roads,” Smith said. “They know we’re going to be out there.”

According to early indications, things were similarly quiet at the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, said Chief Deputy Jeff Lawless.

“I didn’t hear anything major that’s happened. I don’t have any reports on traffic stops or anything like that, but it looks like a relatively normal weekend,” Lawless said. “There’s going to be extra traffic, and extra calls they have to go on, but it looks like we had an uneventful New Year’s weekend.”

A dispatcher with the Ironton Police Department also said they had “no problems” over the weekend.