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Fatalities Drop During 100 Deadliest Days

Note: According to data in early October, there were 93 fatalities during the 100 Deadliest Days. The below data was accurate as of publication of this post on Sept. 10, 2019.

This summer, 91 people died as a result of traffic crashes according to preliminary data. This is down from last summer, when 101 people were killed in crashes during the same time period and equals the lowest number since 2015.

Here are those numbers:
2015 - 88
2016 – 96
2017 – 91
2018 – 101
2019 – 91

This is a positive trend, but even one death is still too many.

The summer months typically bring an uptick in deadly crashes. The time between Memorial Day Weekend and Labor Day Weekend is often referred to as the 100 Deadliest Days of Summer Driving.

“Summer driving is a big concern,” said Highway Safety Manager John Tomlinson. “This is why we work closely with law enforcement agencies and other partners throughout the state to promote safe, engaged driving.”

This summer, the Office of Highway Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration funded four high-visibility enforcements. During these enforcements, law enforcement agencies were provided grant funding to put extra officers on the roads, looking for seat belt violations and aggressive and impaired drivers.

In addition to these grant-funded mobilizations, several media campaigns ran statewide encouraging everyone on the roads to make safe choices.

“It’s so important to get these messages out to the public,” Tomlinson said. “Our law enforcement partners do wonderful work, but they can’t be everywhere. If we are going to prevent these fatal crashes, we need drivers to make smart and safe choices.”

The 100 Deadliest Days at a Glance:*
•   The majority of the 91 people killed in crashes were in passenger vehicles.
     - 62 Automobile
     - 17 Motorcycle
     - 6 Other (ATV/UTV)
     - 4 Pedestrian
     - 2 Pedacycle
•   75 people died in crashes on rural roads and 16 people were killed on urban roads.
•   In the 62 passenger vehicle fatalities, 28 people were not wearing seatbelts.
•   Failure to maintain a lane was a contributing factor in 23 fatalities.
•   Impairment was a contributing factor in 17 fatalities.
•   13 fatalities involved an aggressive-driving behavior.
•   8 fatalities involved inattentive driving.

*Data is preliminary and may be subject to change.