Thousands of Oregonians will travel by road for the Independence Day holiday. A word to the wise: At least 27 fatalities occurred on Oregon roads in the past 30 days.

The toll is a good reminder for drivers to slow down, get plenty of rest and pay attention. The victims ranged from a 9-month-old infant to a 92-year-old man, and crashes occurred from the Oregon coast to near Baker City in Eastern Oregon.

Sgt. Yvette Shephard of the Oregon State Police said Saturday that more vehicles are on the road this time of year and the July Fourth holiday tends to see a lot of crashes.

"According to history, the Fourth is one of the deadliest weekends for fatal crashes," she said.

Record travel is expected this Fourth of July, with nearly 80 percent of trips by vehicle, according to AAA:

AAA projects 44.2 million Americans (13.7 percent of the population) will travel 50 or more miles away from home this Independence Day weekend. This is the highest travel volume for the holiday on record. It adds up to 1.25 million more travelers than last year and an increase of 2.9 percent over 2016. The Independence Day holiday travel period is defined as Friday, June 30 to Tuesday, July 4.

In Oregon, more than a half-million people will take part in a July 4 getaway, the majority by vehicle.

"The 4th of July is traditionally the busiest travel holiday of the summer. This is the fourth year in a row we're seeing an increase in the number of travelers for the holiday," said Marie Dodds, AAA Oregon/Idaho spokeswoman.

-- The Oregonian/OregonLive