Figures show speeding, reckless driving behind highway fatalities
NEW HAVEN, Conn. --State and national figures show that speeding and reckless driving were key factors in the four year high in the number of highway fatalities in Connecticut in 2006.
The figures were compiled by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a non-profit organization that seeks to reduce motor vehicle use in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Statistics from the state Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show more people died on state and interstate roads in 2006 than in any year since 2002.
The TSTC, the D-O-T and state police cited speeding and reckless driving, especially following too closely, as key factors.
Preliminary DOT data show there were 325 fatalities on the road last year, up 17 percent from the 278 who were killed in 2005.
There were also 325 deaths on the road in 2002. The most recorded since 1997 was 341 in 2000.
Lt. J. Paul Vance, spokesman for the state police, said the Department of Public Safety has tried to address the problem.
"Certainly the volume of traffic that we encounter on our roads and highways and any type of reckless operation many times result in a very high majority of accidents," Vance said.
While fatalities have risen, the sheer number of accidents on state roads every year means that they are a tiny percentage of all crashes: 0.33 percent, according to Kevin Nursick, a DOT spokesman.
In 2005, there were 79,588 "reportable accidents" in the state, meaning they happened on a state road or interstate highway or involved injury on a local road.
"The No. 1 contributing factor for accidents in 2005 was driver following too closely," with 25,961 accidents, 32.6 percent of the total, Nursick said Monday.
After that were failure to grant the right of way and driving too fast for conditions, all of which are directly related to the person behind the wheel.
"The majority of accidents in the state are caused by driver error," Nursick said.
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Information from: New Haven Register, http://www.ctcentral.com
