{"id":9454,"date":"2010-01-01T19:11:15","date_gmt":"2010-01-02T00:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/?p=9454"},"modified":"2010-01-01T19:11:15","modified_gmt":"2010-01-02T00:11:15","slug":"indiana-traffic-related-deaths-lowest-in-more-than-80-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2010\/01\/01\/indiana-traffic-related-deaths-lowest-in-more-than-80-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Indiana traffic-related deaths lowest in more than 80 years"},"content":{"rendered":"ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n

Press release from Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels:<\/p>\n

Indiana traffic-related deaths lowest in more than 80 years<\/strong><\/p>\n

(December 30, 2009) 2009 traffic fatalities in Indiana are on pace to be the lowest recorded since 1925. Preliminary statistics through December 28 show 680 highway fatalities, compared to 814 for the same period in 2008, according to Indiana State Police (ISP). That is a more than 16 percent reduction.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Since 2004, when there were 947 fatalities, there has been a 28 percent drop in roadway deaths. 2009 will be the first year in which ISP issued more than one million traffic arrests and written warnings.<\/p>\n

“Hundreds more Hoosiers are alive to welcome 2010 because of the ISP and a comprehensive effort at safety enforcement,” said Governor Mitch Daniels. “Let’s have a safe New Year’s Eve and finish this record year in style.”<\/p>\n

The last time Indiana recorded less than 700 fatalities for a single year was 1925, when the total was 670, according to records maintained by the state Department of Health. In 1925, 711,364 vehicles were registered in the state; the fatality to vehicle rate was 1 to 1,062. There are eight times as many vehicles (5,676,076) registered in Indiana now, and the fatality to vehicle rate is 1 to 8,347.<\/p>\n

Hoosiers drove approximately the same number of miles this year as in 2008, according to the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI). In recent years, Indiana has enacted tougher seat belt laws, 250 more state troopers are on Indiana’s highways and they are stopping more motorists for safety violations, and Indiana is taking a tough approach toward impaired driving. For example:<\/p>\n