Decline seen in 16 states United seat-belt effort clicking across nation
USA Today | Staff and wire reports
Traffic deaths dropped substantially in 16 states last year, in many cases reflecting stepped-up enforcement and education campaigns, according to a USA Today analysis of statistics reported by the states.
Highway fatalities fell by at least 5 percent in those states and rose at least that much in nine states. Texas and Georgia reported preliminary declines of more than 5 percent, but traffic safety agencies in those states said they expect the totals to rise above 2005's figures.
The fatality numbers are preliminary. Several states are still collecting data from county and local law enforcement agencies, and the figures could rise.
Highway safety officials in several states said they were pleased by the unofficial 2006 numbers.
"This was the safest year on Ohio roads on record," said Lt. Tony Bradshaw of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
He said 1,238 people died on the state's streets and highways last year, a 6.6 percent drop from 2005.
Bradshaw attributed the decline to enforcement and education efforts and research initiatives that enable state troopers to focus on high-risk areas.
Illinois saw traffic deaths fall below 1,300 for the first time since 1924. Road deaths there have been dropping every year since 2003, when Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed a law that allows police to stop motorists solely for not wearing seat belts.
Last year, three other states -- Alaska, Kentucky and Mississippi -- enacted such laws, bringing the number to 25. All three states reported declines in traffic deaths. Officials in Kentucky
and Mississippi attributed the drops to the new law.
States report their highway death numbers to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which analyzes the figures before issuing a preliminary national fatality total, usually in August. NHTSA releases its official tally in the fall. The 2006 total is not likely to show major changes from 2005. Since 1995, the annual total has ranged between 41,000 and 43,000.
Still to be calculated is each state's traffic fatality rate, which is the number of deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. The U.S. fatality rate, which had been dropping for more than 10 years, rose to 1.47 in 2005 from 1.45 in 2004, according to NHTSA data.
Sgt. Richard Logsdon of the Bucyrus post of the Ohio Highway Patrol knows there is still work to be done.
"We're still continuing to do the same things as far as education goes. Still give classes at the schools when we and they have the time."
"It helps a lot. Education, enforcement and evaluation. Monthly we evaluate how it is going.
There is one troubling statistic for Logsdon and other OHP troopers. Fatalities in both Crawford and Wyandot counties involve 66 percent of occupants not wearing safety belts.
"Yes, we still have more education to do," he said.
The post wants to extend its outreach by trying to get speak with businesses that have safety committee meetings.
Crawford and Wyandot counties also are slightly above where they should be in terms of fatalities per miles driven.
Logsdon said the average fatality rate for Crawford County is seven fatal crashes
with eight people killed dating back to 1998. Wyandot County had six crashes with seven fatalities.
In 2005 and 2006 there were 15 people killed on Crawford County roads and eight of them were not wearing safety belts. Eight died in Wyandot, with half of them unbuckled.
"Over that time period, we could have fewer killed had they been wearing belts," Logsdon said. "We're always looking for zero fatalities."
Ohio saw a 6.6 percent drop, from 1,326 to 1,238.
On July 3, 2003, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed a law that allowed police in his state to stop and ticket drivers they saw operating vehicles without wearing seat belts. It was part of an ambitious effort to reduce annual traffic deaths in his state to 1,000 or fewer by 2008.
State officials say that effort made major progress last year, when Illinois recorded its lowest number of traffic deaths in more than 80 years. For the first time since 1924, fewer than 1,300 people were killed on Illinois roads.
Illinois is one of many states mounting aggressive strategies to try to reduce deaths on their streets and highways.
More states are using computer-enhanced analysis to identify crash trends and tailor enforcement and education programs, says Barbara Harsha, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, which advises states on traffic safety.
In Illinois, seat-belt use has been steadily going up since the so-called primary seat-belt law was passed, and highway deaths have been going down.
In 2003, 76 percent of Illinois motorists wore seat belts and 1,454 people died in traffic; seat-belt use rose to 83 percent (with 1,355 fatalities) in 2004, 86 percent (1,363) in 2005 and 88 percent (1,267) in 2006, according to Michael Stout, director of the Illinois Department of Transportation's traffic safety division.
"We believe the biggest impact has been due to the fact of Gov. Blagojevich signing the primary seat-belt law in 2003," Stout says.
Police in Illinois systematically enforced the seat-belt law last year, Stout says. Police set up thousands of "safety belt enforcement zones," in which one or two officers watched whether motorists were wearing seat belts. "If they're unbuckled, the officers pull them over or radio a car sitting up ahead and have it pull them over," he says. Police issued more than 58,000 citations in May for seat-belt and child safety seat violations, says Matt Vanover, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Transportation.
States have other ways to reduce road deaths beyond just enforcing seat-belt laws. In fact, the biggest percentage drop in traffic fatalities last year, 23.5 percent, came in New Hampshire -- the only state without a mandatory seat-belt law for adults.
In Illinois, the state has added a Motorcycle Enforcement Bureau, started using photo radar and launched other enforcement and public information campaigns. Illinois State Police say their efforts to reduce deaths have focused on the "Fatal Five" violations: speeding, not wearing seat belts, improper lane changes, following too closely, and driving under the influence.
Among the initiatives:
Laws banning drivers under 18 from using cell phones and requiring young drivers to make sure passengers under age 19 are properly buckled.
Laws that doubled the amount of supervised time young drivers must spend behind the wheel before receiving their full license and that prohibited teen drivers from carrying more than one passenger for the first six months after receiving their license.
Stiffer penalties for drivers over 21 who drive intoxicated while carrying passengers under age 16; tougher sentences for drivers who cause a death while driving drunk and for driving after a DUI license revocation.
