Traffic Accident Deaths Down in Florida

A previous post discussed the fact that motorcycle fatalities in Florida have gone up each year since 1998 as a percentage of all auto accident deaths. Fortunately, it appears that the number of all tracffic related deaths in Florida has actually declined. A recent post at www.tbo.com cited the following statistics from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to show the decline:

The number of fatalities for the 2008 year declined 7.3 percent - 2,986 traffic deaths compared with 3,221 the year before...The number of deaths was the lowest since 2000, when 2,999 people were killed on Florida roads, and follows a three-year trend of declines in fatal accidents.

The www.tbo.com post cited Capt, Mark Welch from the department for the proposition that factors contributing to the decline included a combination of fewer miles driven, along with several years of safety campaigns aimed at teens, drunken driving and seat belt usage.