Federal grants aim to reduce Minnesota traffic deaths - Duluth News Tribune

The number of people killed in traffic accidents in Northeastern Minnesota has dropped by 42 percent in the past decade.

Still, more than 500 people were killed during that time, and the positive trend of fewer deaths is of little consolation to the families of the victims of fatal crashes, said Donna Berger, director of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Office of Traffic Safety.

"Minnesota is dedicated and committed to preventing future tragedies," Berger said during a Monday morning news conference at Monaco Air in Duluth. She and other DPS officials were in town to announce new federal grants totaling $612,571 to support efforts to reduce traffic deaths in Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, Pine and St. Louis counties.

The grants "allow us to put more officers on the roads to enforce traffic laws and ultimately save lives," Duluth Deputy Police Chief of Patrol Mike Tusken said after the news conference.

Most of the money will go to law enforcement, courts and community groups for additional traffic enforcement and education efforts between now and Sept. 30, 2013. The total amount is a little more than what the region received during the last federal fiscal year.

"The long road to reducing traffic deaths toward our goal of zero starts with the officers and the people in our communities doing the work every day," PSC Commissioner Mona Dohman said. "These efforts are saving lives and helping to make our roads safer."

There were 39 traffic deaths last year in Northeastern Minnesota last year, compared to 67 during 2002.

An increase in the number of people wearing seat belts probably accounts for some of the reduction in deaths, state officials said. Ten years ago, 41 (61 percent) of the people killed in region were not wearing seat belts; last year only nine (23 percent) were not restrained. During the decade, 215 (42 percent) of the 509 people killed in traffic accidents were not restrained.

While many people seem to have heeded the message of belting up, too many are taking a belt or more before getting behind the wheel. Drunken driving was involved in accidents that killed 162 people in the last decade. Last year, drunken driving accounted for 16 of the region's 39 deaths. That 41 percent is considerably higher than the statewide percentage of about 30 percent.

Drunken driving remains a major problem in the region, Dohman said.

Traffic deaths have decreased across the state during the last decade. Last year, there 368 traffic deaths statewide — the lowest number since 1944 and a 44 percent reduction from a decade ago.

But a spike in deaths this year — in part because of an increase in pedestrian and motorcycle deaths — has safety officials concerned. So far this year 286 people have died on the state's roads, 25 more than by this date last year.

"For all the progress we have made to make roads safer, this year has demonstrated how unsafe decisions and mistakes behind the wheel can quickly turn our travels into violent tragedies," Dohman said. "It's our role as bicyclists, drivers, motorcyclists and pedestrians to pay attention and be cooperative, not competitive, in traffic."

Tags: news, transportation, auto, updates

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