Md. DOT: 523 People Died In Traffic Crashes On State Roads In 2016
LINTHICUM HEIGHTS, Md. (WJZ) — A jump in the number of people dying on Maryland roads shows no sign of going down, and that has police and transportation agencies worried.
Alex DeMetrick has the latest numbers, and what experts say is behind the fatalities.
Sometimes, the cause is medical. The driver of the bus crash in Baltimore in November had a history of seizures. Other times, it's weather. Ice caused a tanker to lose control and explode on I-95 in December.
The cause of fatal accidents in Maryland, which have increased, can also be not buckling up, or driving aggressively.
Maryland officials say 523 people died on the state's roads last year.
"We are looking at a 14 percent increase over the low from 2014," says Pete Rahn, MDOT Secretary.
That year, there were just 443 fatalities in Maryland. In 2015, 521. Last year, it was 523.
While statistics are statewide, efforts to reduce fatalities are focusing on local jurisdictions.
"Prince George's County has a strategic highway plan, and even though state fatalities were up last year, Prince George's' were down, Rahn says.
Those strategies focus on changing driver behavior through traffic stops for distracted driving and seat belt use.
Then there's impaired driving, which for the first time is finding more cases of driving while drugged.
"Forty-three percent were impaired by a drug either legal or illegal, however 37 percent were impaired by alcohol," says Ragina Averella, of AAA Mid-Atlantic.
"Unfortunately when folks become impaired they tend to use some of the other causations, speed, aggressive driving, failing to use seat belts, that all contributes," says Col. Jerry Jones, of the MDTA Police. "It just creates a tragedy on our roadways."
Those tragedies aren't limited to Maryland. Last year, highway fatalities nationwide topped 40,000, the highest in decades.
Lower gas prices may have contributed to the high numbers.
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