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Idaho Transportation
Department
Public Affairs Office
P.O. Box 7129
Boise, ID 83707
208.334.8005
Fax: 208.334.8563
Email


Board considers '05 crash statistics,
railroad crossing program

Continuing its series of meetings at district sites statewide, the Idaho Transportation Board traveled this week to Coeur d’Alene for a highway tour and business meeting.

The two-day visit began Thursday with a breakfast meeting with the Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization. The tour that followed focused on the U.S. 95 corridor north of Coeur d’Alene. The agenda also included meetings with officials in Hayden and Post Falls.

The fourth public meeting on the Forum on Transportation Investment was held Thursday afternoon in Coeur d’Alene. The board continued to receive public comments on the Forum’s conclusions and recommendations about the state’s extensive transportation needs. Input will help board members develop funding proposals to build and maintain Idaho’s transportation infrastructure.

Friday’s agenda

Annual Report of State Railroad Grade Crossing Protection Funds
The annual report on the State Railroad Grade Protection Funds will be presented to the board at its Friday (July 21) meeting. As of Jan. 1, there were 2,639 active railroad crossings in Idaho. There were 21 rail/highway collisions in calendar year 2005, but no fatalities were recorded. Statistics for 2001 through 2005 also are included in the report. The most rail/highway collisions occurred:

  • month – October
  • day of the week – Tuesday
  • vehicle type – automobile
  • county – Washington

Trestle bridge collapse
District 1 expects to inform the board of a railroad trestle bridge collapse in Benewah County earlier this year. As employees of the St. Maries River Railroad were crossing the bridge to perform routine maintenance, a 400-foot section of the bridge collapsed and a crane fell into the southern end of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Fortunately, both employees escaped injury.

Benewah County issued a disaster declaration, which the governor confirmed on May 16. Potlatch Forest Products, owner of the railroad, recently announced plans to rebuild the bridge.

Idaho Traffic Collisions Report
The Idaho Traffic Collisions 2005 report includes descriptive statistics about reportable traffic crashes, from those that result in property damage in excess of $750 to any one single piece of property to those that result in the loss of human life.

Some of the findings include:

  • Idaho’s fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled was 1.84, which is significantly higher than the national fatality rate of 1.46.
  • While the number of motor vehicle collisions decreased by 0.3 percent to 28,238 in 2005, the number of fatalities resulting from those collisions increased to 275 from 260 in 2004, a 6 percent increase.
  • Just over 36 percent of the motor vehicle fatalities were the result of impaired driving.
  • Aggressive driving was a contributing factor in 55 percent of collisions and was a factor in 48 percent of the resulting fatalities.
  • Nine pedestrians and three bicyclists were killed in motor vehicle crashes.

Published 7-21-06