Indiana set for least annual traffic deaths since 20s

Preliminary figures through Monday show 680 traffic fatalities in Indiana this year — the least since the state’s 670 in 1925.

By CHARLES WILSON
The Associated Press

12/31/2009

INDIANAPOLIS — With the end of 2009 in sight, Indiana is on pace to record the lowest number of traffic deaths in any year since Model Ts roamed the roads, state officials said Wednesday.

Gov. Mitch Daniels attributed the decline to the introduction and increased enforcement of tougher seat belt and drunken driving laws.

Preliminary figures through Monday show 680 traffic fatalities this year — the least since the state’s 670 in 1925.

“This is stunning,” said Daniels, who announced the figures at a news conference flanked by state police Superintendent Paul Whitesell and officials from various safety-related organizations.

Records show traffic fatalities have dropped by more than 25 percent since 2004, when there were 947 deaths.

State police have made nearly 1 million traffic arrests and written warnings this year, a number Whitesell said was about twice that when Daniels took office in 2005. Arrests for drunken driving are up 54 percent since 2004, according to a governor’s office news release.

A law that took effect in 2007 requires almost everyone to wear seat belts, including those riding in back seats or traveling in pickup trucks, SUVs and minivans.

And the legal limit for a driver’s blood-alcohol level has been reduced to 0.08 percent from 0.10 in 2001.

“The law and the awareness that the laws are being very firmly enforced ... Surely this has penetrated the public’s consciousness and people are being more careful,” Daniels said.

Whitesell said state police have increased patrols in more accident-prone areas, with troopers watching for violations that can cause crashes.

The decline in traffic fatalities does not reflect a drop in the number of road users. The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute says drivers in Indiana covered the same number of miles this year as they did in 2008 when there were 814 deaths on the road.

The decrease in fatal crashes was especially surprising since there are now eight times as many vehicles on Indiana roads as there were in 1925, Daniels said.

“I don’t know how low we can go,” he said.

Kevin Jones of The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at kevinj@thetrucker.com.