Published: Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Traffic deaths lowest in five decades
It could be because more people are using seat belts or that people drove less last year because of higher gas prices.
Either way, the news was good: fewer people died in traffic accidents statewide in 2008 than in any year since 1955, according to the state.
In 2008, the number was 522. In 1955, it was 461.
“We're getting into pretty rarified company,” said Dick Doane, a research investigator with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
State officials attribute much of the reduction to the increased use of seat belts. The state now estimates that 96.5 percent of drivers in the state buckle up, the third highest rate in the country behind Michigan and Hawaii.
The number of deaths in which the crash victim did not wear a seat belt has dropped by more than a third since 2000, according to the state.
In 2002, the state began allowing police to stop a vehicle if an officer could see that someone in the car was not wearing a seat belt. The previous law, passed in 1986, required police to stop a driver for another infraction before issuing a ticket for not wearing a seat belt.
“We have been strictly enforcing the state's seat belt law, and that appears to be paying dividends,” State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste said.
The chief said emergency medical techniques have improved as well.
“Paramedics are saving people who just a few years ago would have certainly become statistics,” he said.
Another factor could be that people drove fewer miles last year because of high gas prices and the economy, Doane said. Still, the ratio of fatalities to miles driven was down from the year before: 0.94 deaths per 100 million miles driven, compared to 1.0 in 2007 and 1.85 in 1990. In 1955, the figure was 4.45, Doane said.
Also, drug-and-alcohol related deaths have declined over time, he said.
Not only are there fewer deaths, but the number of collisions is also trending down. In 1990 there were nearly 2,500 fatal or serious injury collisions. By 2008, that number had dropped to just a little more than 1,000, though miles traveled increased by about one-third.
State Trooper Keith Leary, who works in an area from the King-Snohomish county line to the Canadian border, said the State Patrol has been adding enforcement in areas known for dangerous crashes, such as U.S. 2. It's been making a difference, he said.
This year, three people died in three consecutive days on Snohomish County roads late last month, but overall, traffic deaths in the county are down so far in 2009.
Traffic accidents have claimed nearly two dozen lives in the county since Jan. 1, officials said. Nearly 50 people die annually in traffic deaths on average in the county, state records show. At the current pace of traffic deaths, Snohomish County would have fewer deaths in 2009 than is typical.
Reporter Jackson Holtz contributed to this story.
Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.
Traffic deaths
Traffic deaths in Washington state over the past 10 years. There were 461 deaths reported in 1955.
2008 522
2007 571
2006 633
2005 649
2004 567
2003 600
2002 658
2001 649
2000 631
1999 637
Either way, the news was good: fewer people died in traffic accidents statewide in 2008 than in any year since 1955, according to the state.
In 2008, the number was 522. In 1955, it was 461.
“We're getting into pretty rarified company,” said Dick Doane, a research investigator with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
State officials attribute much of the reduction to the increased use of seat belts. The state now estimates that 96.5 percent of drivers in the state buckle up, the third highest rate in the country behind Michigan and Hawaii.
The number of deaths in which the crash victim did not wear a seat belt has dropped by more than a third since 2000, according to the state.
In 2002, the state began allowing police to stop a vehicle if an officer could see that someone in the car was not wearing a seat belt. The previous law, passed in 1986, required police to stop a driver for another infraction before issuing a ticket for not wearing a seat belt.
“We have been strictly enforcing the state's seat belt law, and that appears to be paying dividends,” State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste said.
The chief said emergency medical techniques have improved as well.
“Paramedics are saving people who just a few years ago would have certainly become statistics,” he said.
Another factor could be that people drove fewer miles last year because of high gas prices and the economy, Doane said. Still, the ratio of fatalities to miles driven was down from the year before: 0.94 deaths per 100 million miles driven, compared to 1.0 in 2007 and 1.85 in 1990. In 1955, the figure was 4.45, Doane said.
Also, drug-and-alcohol related deaths have declined over time, he said.
Not only are there fewer deaths, but the number of collisions is also trending down. In 1990 there were nearly 2,500 fatal or serious injury collisions. By 2008, that number had dropped to just a little more than 1,000, though miles traveled increased by about one-third.
State Trooper Keith Leary, who works in an area from the King-Snohomish county line to the Canadian border, said the State Patrol has been adding enforcement in areas known for dangerous crashes, such as U.S. 2. It's been making a difference, he said.
This year, three people died in three consecutive days on Snohomish County roads late last month, but overall, traffic deaths in the county are down so far in 2009.
Traffic accidents have claimed nearly two dozen lives in the county since Jan. 1, officials said. Nearly 50 people die annually in traffic deaths on average in the county, state records show. At the current pace of traffic deaths, Snohomish County would have fewer deaths in 2009 than is typical.
Reporter Jackson Holtz contributed to this story.
Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.
Traffic deaths
Traffic deaths in Washington state over the past 10 years. There were 461 deaths reported in 1955.
2008 522
2007 571
2006 633
2005 649
2004 567
2003 600
2002 658
2001 649
2000 631
1999 637
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