Evidence road deaths may be down
posted: 3:35 p.m., July 22; updated 3:40 p.m., July 22.
In a recent interview with the Associated Press, the National Safety Council said it's collected enough data to show that road deaths are substantially down across the United States in the first five months of this year compared to the same time period in 2007. One likely reason: The sour economy and high gas prices mean people are driving less.
I think these numbers likely reflect a trend, but you should also know that many states (including California) and the federal government have not formally released crash data for 2007. Some groups and journalists have been trying to collect data in the meantime; USA Today recently had a story concluding also that roads are safer, although based on less data.
What is interesting about the Council's statistics is that they show a substantial decrease of 9% in road deaths overall. However, California has had 2% more deaths this year compared to last, although the number has dropped 5% from 2006.
I do think there is a reason to be cautious about the Council's numbers: Recent history suggests that the number of highway deaths from year to year doesn't move on the order of 9%. According to the federal data, over the last five years the number of deaths has not moved much in either direction, with deaths ranging from a low of 42,642 in 2006 to a high of 43,510 in 2005.
John Ulczycki, a spokesman for the Council, said he believes there may be several reasons for the drop. One is that states are cracking down more on the kind of behavior that leads to accidents -- drinking and driving, and speeding, for example. But he said the greater likelihood is that the bad economy and high gas prices mean people are driving less and, thus, crashing less.
The state-by-state numbers are after the jump.
--Steve Hymon
photo: Brian Vander Brug
| State | No of Months | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 |
| TOTAL U.S. | 5 | 15,840 | 17,490 | 7,590 |
| ALABAMA | 3 | 201 | 253 | 244 |
| ALASKA | 5 | 12 | 22 | 27 |
| Arizona | 5 | 370 | 271 | 367 |
| ARKANSAS | 5 | 213 | 238 | 261 |
| California | 5 | 1,422 | 1,394 | 1,495 |
| Colorado | 5 | 202 | 197 | 187 |
| Connecticut | 5 | 111 | 92 | 137 |
| DELAWARE | 5 | 45 | 55 | 59 |
| D.C. | 4 | 11 | 22 | 21 |
| FLORIDA | 5 | 1,264 | 1,461 | 1,465 |
| GEORGIA | 5 | 581 | 634 | 637 |
| HAWAII | 4 | 38 | 52 | 59 |
| IDAHO | 5 | 90 | 95 | 93 |
| ILLINOIS | 5 | 394 | 486 | 486 |
| INDIANA | 5 | 266 | 325 | 299 |
| Iowa | 4 | 115 | 113 | 109 |
| KANSAS | 3 | 69 | 81 | 66 |
| KENTUCKY | 5 | 299 | 336 | 336 |
| Louisiana | 4 | 249 | 197 | 288 |
| Maine | 5 | 67 | 59 | 69 |
| Maryland | 4 | 164 | 144 | 172 |
| MASSACHUSETTS | 2 | 34 | 74 | 40 |
| MICHIGAN | 5 | 312 | 359 | 357 |
| MINNESOTA | 4 | 116 | 126 | 146 |
| Mississippi | X | - | - | - |
| MISSOURI | 5 | 359 | 378 | 425 |
| MONTANA | 5 | 75 | 103 | 92 |
| NEBRASKA | 4 | 68 | 78 | 86 |
| NEVADA | 4 | 101 | 133 | 136 |
| NEW HAMPSHIRE | 4 | 29 | 44 | 25 |
| NEW JERSEY | 5 | 219 | 264 | 298 |
| NEW MEXICO | 4 | 103 | 125 | 147 |
| NEW YORK | X | - | - | - |
| NORTH CAROLINA | 5 | 551 | 646 | 609 |
| NORTH DAKOTA | 5 | 32 | 39 | 43 |
| OHIO | 5 | 435 | 457 | 445 |
| OKLAHOMA | 4 | 200 | 210 | 208 |
| OREGON | 4 | 113 | 138 | 126 |
| Pennsylvania | X | - | - | - |
| RHODE ISLAND | 4 | 20 | 24 | 22 |
| SOUTH CAROLINA | 5 | 402 | 435 | 401 |
| SOUTHDAKOTA | 5 | 36 | 47 | 63 |
| TENNESSEE | 5 | 401 | 432 | 440 |
| TEXAS | 4 | 847 | 992 | 905 |
| UTAH | 5 | 82 | 109 | 92 |
| Vermont | X | - | - | - |
| VIRGINIA | 5 | 329 | 375 | 359 |
| WASHINGTON | 3 | 108 | 122 | 122 |
| WEST VIRGINIA | 5 | 140 | 176 | 151 |
| WISCONSIN | 5 | 199 | 283 | 260 |
| WYOMING | 5 | 44 | 55 | 61 |
