Overall deaths haven’t been under 100 since 1963

Dover –  Delaware Office of Highway Safety officials are pleased to announce a 13.6% drop in fatal traffic crashes, and an even greater 14.6% drop in Delaware’s traffic deaths for 2013.  There were 95 fatal motor vehicle crashes resulting in 99 fatalities in 2013 compared to 110 fatal crashes resulting in 116 fatalities in 2012.  This is the first time traffic fatalities have been under 100 in the last 50 years on First State roadways. 1963 was the last time the state saw under 100 fatalities when there were 96 traffic fatalities.  Going back to 1929, the highest number of traffic fatalities in Delaware occurred in 1988, where 165 people were killed. The fewest number of traffic fatalities occurred in 1961 where 65 people were killed.

“While even one loss is too many, the good news is that fewer people died in traffic crashes this year than last year,” said Jana Simpler, Director of the Office of Highway Safety.  “The Office of Highway Safety, along with many of our partners is committed to moving Delaware Toward Zero Deaths on our roadways.  We will continue to identify opportunities for improvements using data driven countermeasures in education and enforcement.”

“These reductions came as a result of the incredible effort of our State, county and local law enforcement as well as health care representatives, the corporate community and traffic safety partners to include our Department of Transportation. While we are very proud of the success we enjoyed last year, it is imperative we understand that each of these lives represent a human tragedy and we must continue to strive for even better in 2014,” Safety and Homeland Security Secretary Lewis D. Schiliro said.

“Safety is the number one priority of the Delaware Department of Transportation,” said DelDOT Secretary Shailen Bhatt.  “We start every year with a goal: to reduce the number of deaths on our roads to zero.  We are pleased progress is being made, but we aren’t satisfied.  Delaware’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan aims to curb aggressive driving, reduce impaired driving, increase pedestrian safety and increase the use of seatbelts.  DelDOT’s Division of Motor Vehicles works with OHS and others to promote safety via education, and the licensing and inspection processes.  Our construction and traffic division are always striving to reduce the number and severity of roadway-departure crashes and improve the design and operation of highway intersections and other roadway features.”

The area where OHS officials saw the greatest improvement was in seat belt use.  The state seat belt rate increased to an all-time high of 92% which also reflects one of the highest percentages in the country.  The increased seat belt rate though is not reflected in the number of unbelted traffic crash fatalities.  There were 52 vehicle occupant fatalities (drivers and passengers) in 2013 and of those killed, 48% were not wearing seat belts, the same percentage for 2012.   This illustrates that the riskiest drivers are simply not buckling up.

Preliminary reports also show that 36% of the 99 (or 36%) traffic deaths in 2013 were alcohol-related.  This percentage drastically decreased from 2012 when 60 (or 52%) of the 116 motorist fatalities were alcohol-related.  OHS will continue with high visibility enforcement and awareness efforts in 2014 under its impaired driving prevention campaigns including NFL playoffs and Super Bowl, St. Patrick’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Checkpoint Strikeforce and Safe Family Holiday. Officers arrested a total of 4,249 individuals in 2013 for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs statewide compared to 4,198 in 2012.

Pedestrian fatalities continue to be a particularly troubling area for Delaware.  OHS implemented a pilot educational enforcement campaign in New Castle County for 2013 to address pedestrians crossing roadways in unsafe locations. Even though there was a slight decrease with 2013 ending with 26 pedestrian fatalities compared to 30 in 2012, OHS is committed to reducing pedestrian deaths in 2014 with more education and enforcement efforts statewide.  The highest contributing factors in pedestrian fatalities include pedestrians under the influence, dart or dashing in front of cars, and pedestrians not being visible to motorists.   “We are working very hard to determine any trends to these fatal crashes,” said Simpler.  “We will continue to work with our partners to create innovative countermeasures for 2014 in hopes of reducing the number of pedestrians killed.”

Another area of concern is motorcycle safety with 2013 ending with 20 motorcycle fatalities compared to 17 in 2012 with speed on the part of the motorcyclists being the predominate contributing factor to these crashes. However helmet use continues to be high with 65% wearing helmets in 2012 and 2013.

Progress has been made in bicycle safety with Delaware experiencing 1 bicycle fatality in 2013 compared to 4 in 2012.

OHS continues to look at aggressive driving behavior issues with a focus on speeding in 2014.  Delaware saw 31% of the State’s 95 fatal crashes attributed to aggressive driving behaviors and 37% involving speeding as a factor.  Nationally speeding contributes to roughly 30% of all fatal crashes.   According to a new National Survey of Speeding Attitudes and Behavior released by NHTSA in December, more than half of motorists agree speeding is a problem on our nation’s roads.  But when it comes to refraining from the behavior, one in five drivers admit, “I try to get where I am going as fast as I can.”

Other top aggressive driving behaviors that contribute to fatal crashes in Delaware include failure to grant right of way, improper lane change, and running stop signs.  Continued implementation of strategies to combat aggressive driving with a focus on speed will be more critical than ever in 2014 to reduce fatalities on our roadways.

As 2014 begins, OHS will continue to work with partners and key stakeholders to formulate plans of action to reduce overall deaths on Delaware roadways with a long term goal of zero deaths.  As always, the public can get more information on Office of Highway Safety programs as well as updated traffic fatality statistics on our website located at www.ohs.delaware.gov or by following us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DEHighwaySafe or Facebook www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE. The complete report and information on the national speeding survey findings can be found here http://bit.ly/1eH4xz2.

Delaware Fatal Crash Facts

• 95 fatal motor vehicle crashes resulting in 99 fatalities in 2013
• 110 fatal crashes resulting in 116 fatalities in 2012.
• 1963 was the last time the State saw under 100 fatalities when there were 96 traffic fatalities.
• Going back to 1929, the highest number of traffic fatalities in Delaware occurred in 1988, where 165 people were killed.
• The fewest number of traffic fatalities occurred in 1961 where 65 people were killed.

Christmas week enforcement focus is on DUI and Aggressive Driving

Dover –  As the song goes “Over the river and through the woods to grandmothers house we go…” The Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is wishing all motorists a safe driving holiday as Christmas week approaches.  As the OHS 15^th annual Safe Family Holiday Campaign continues, officers will be working overtime patrolling the roadways to ensure all motorists are buckled up, practicing patience behind the wheel, and using a designated sober driver if celebrating with friends and family during the holidays.

Overtime aggressive driving enforcement will run from December 19^th-28^th along with DUI saturation patrols continuing to run through the entire holiday season.

There is one DUI checkpoint scheduled for this weekend as follows:

• Friday December 20th   Newport (New Castle County DUI Task Force)- Checkpoint

The Safe Family Holiday DUI Victim tree received 1 more green bulb this week. There is now a total of 9 green bulbs and 1 red bulb on each DUI Victim tree.  Each green bulb represents an alcohol related injury and a red bulb represents an alcohol related fatality on Delaware roadways between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.  Last year, 3 people were killed and 54 were injured in alcohol-related crashes in Delaware during the holiday season.

Since January 1^st of this year, 95 people have lost their lives on Delaware roadways in 91 fatal traffic crashes, compared to 106 people killed in 101 fatal traffic crashes this time last year.  Aggressive driving behaviors, including speeding, running stop signs, and not granting right of way, have contributed to 33% of the fatal traffic crashes so far this year. To date alcohol consumption has been involved in 35% of the traffic deaths, and 46% of vehicle occupant fatalities were individuals not wearing their seat belts.

For more information on these or any of our other Safe Family Holiday campaign efforts follow us on Twitter @DEHighwaySafe, visit our website for updates at www.ohs.delaware.gov, www.DUIRealTime.com/Safe-Holidays or Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE.

Enforcement focus is on DUI, Aggressive Driving, and Seat Belts.

 Dover –  Once again thousands of Delawareans will be hitting the road to visit family and friends and even do some after Thanksgiving shopping.  The Office of Highway Safety wants to remind motorists as they travel this holiday season to buckle up, practice patience behind the wheel, and if partaking in some holiday ‘spirits’ use a designated driver because Delaware law enforcement will be on high alert to make sure you arrive safely to your destination.

Wednesday November 27th will begin the Delaware Office of Highway Safety’s 15^th annual Safe Family Holiday Campaign.  Safe Family Holiday enforcement activities over the next six weeks will include 28 local law enforcement agencies statewide & Delaware State Police conducting overtime patrols focusing on aggressive & impaired driving, and seat belt use.

Overtime aggressive driving enforcement will run November 26^th– December 7^th, and then again from December 19^th-28^th.  Seat belt enforcement begins December 11th and runs through December 19th.  The DUI saturation patrols will begin November 27th and will run through the entire holiday season and will supplement already scheduled Checkpoint Strikeforce DUI checkpoints.

There is one DUI checkpoint scheduled for the Thanksgiving holiday as follows:

•  Wednesday Nov. 27th   Wilmington (New Castle County DUI Task Force)- Checkpoint

Since January 1^st of this year, 91 people have lost their lives on Delaware roadways in 87 fatal traffic crashes, compared to 103 people killed in 98 fatal traffic crashes this time last year.  Aggressive driving behaviors, including speeding, running stop signs, and not granting right of way, have contributed to 32% of the fatal traffic crashes so far this year. To date alcohol consumption has been involved in 34% of the traffic deaths, and 49% of vehicle occupant fatalities were individuals not wearing their seat belts.

Over the last decade, several public awareness activities have become Safe Family Holiday traditions including the OHS “Mocktail” party and the DUI Tree project.  “Mocktails” are non-alcoholic cocktail parties, where safety information, responsible party hosting tips, and samples of “smart” party foods will be provided for employees.  Get your Mocktail party guide online at http://ohs.delaware.gov/pdfs/2013/mocktail/Safe-Sober_MocktailUpdate_HolidaySeason.pdf.

The DUI Tree memorializes those who were injured or killed in an alcohol-related crash during the campaign period by placing colored light bulbs on the tree to represent each victim.  Several OHS corporate partners have volunteered to set up and display the trees at their locations to remind employees to be safe this holiday season.  OHS has created a virtual DUI Tree for the public at www.DUIRealTime.com/Safe-Holidays. Last year, 3 people were killed and 54 were injured in alcohol-related crashes in Delaware during the holiday season.

The Safe Family Holiday Campaign, which runs from Thanksgiving Eve to New Year’s Day, in conjunction with the Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign, is OHS’ major traffic safety initiative for the holiday season.  It includes a combination of high visibility enforcement, public awareness activities, and media messaging aimed at stopping impaired and other dangerous drivers.

For more information on these or any of our other Safe Family Holiday campaign efforts follow us on Twitter @DEHighwaySafe, visit our website for updates at www.ohs.delaware.gov, www.DUIRealTime.com/Safe-Holidays or Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE.

OHS Launches the 2013 Aggressive Driving Campaign

Dover – The Delaware Office of Highway Safety (OHS) wants to know if you turn into a different person behind the wheel as they launch the agency’s aggressive driving campaign for 2013.  The agency is building upon the brand “Respect the Sign” and reminding all drivers that aggressive driving is more than just speeding and is highlighting the other traffic behaviors drivers are likely to do such running stop signs, failing to yield, and changing lanes in an unsafe manner. The campaign will include high-visibility enforcement and awareness initiatives aimed at reducing aggressive driving-related traffic deaths.

OHS will conduct four 2-week mini waves of enforcement beginning May 7th and ending in September. Enforcement will be accompanied by outreach efforts focused on reducing aggressive driving related crashes.

Since January 1^st of this year there have been 24 fatal crashes in Delaware, 8 of which were caused by aggressive driving behaviors.  In 2012, of the State’s 116 fatal crashes, 35% (38 crashes) were attributed to aggressive driving behaviors.  Of these 38 fatal crashes, a driver’s failure to grant the right of way caused 10 crashes, and speeding caused 16 crashes.

“Most individuals don’t realize that they can turn into an aggressive driver behind the wheel,” said Jana Simpler, Director of OHS. “The aggressive driving behaviors one does behind the wheel, such as speeding, tailgating, failure to yield to other drivers, have led to many tragedies on our roadways. The focus of this campaign is to not only enforce traffic safety laws and reduce aggressive driving crashes, but to also have drivers ask themselves ‘Do I really do that behind the wheel?’”

OHS will conduct various public outreach and education activities including promotion of the website www.AggressivedrivingDE.com for individuals to take a quiz to find out what type of driver they are, learn about the violations & penalties for aggressive driving, and how to deal with ‘that guy’ if they encounter one on the road.  Life sized traffic signs with ‘that guy’ excuse for ignoring the sign, will also be placed at select partnering locations through the state, and a partnership with the University of Delaware cheerleading team to lead a “Don’t Be Aggressive” cheer demonstration. OHS will also partner with AAA to share the information with their teen driving campaign.

Delaware State Police in all three counties, along with the Dover, Middletown, New Castle County, Smyrna, and Wilmington Police agencies will be conducting aggressive driving patrols during the 4 waves of enforcement.  Police are being asked to focus on the top four aggressive driving violations in the State, with the primary focus on drivers who fail to grant the right of way to other drivers.  Failure to grant the right of way violations include drivers who turn left in front of another vehicle, pull out in front of other vehicles at stop signs and fail to merge safely.  It is also the primary contributing factor in aggressive driving related fatal and injury crashes.

New paid media messaging has been developed and will be incorporated throughout the 4 waves of enforcement including cable tv, print, media rich interactive online advertising, Pandora, static tv ads in all 4 DMV locations, along with posters, fliers, and table tents.

Individuals who are stopped under Delaware’s aggressive driving law can be charged both with aggressive driving and charged for each individual traffic offense.  Penalties include fines between $100 – $300 for a first offense, 6 points on your license, possible jail time, and mandatory attendance at an 8-hour behavior modification course.  The 2012 “Respect The Sign” campaign resulted in 3,120 citations being issued for aggressive driving behaviors and 30 individuals arrested for Aggressive Driving.

For more information on Respect The Sign campaign or any of the other OHS campaigns visit www.ohs.delaware.gov, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE or follow us on Twitter @DEHighwaySafe.

Dover – Twenty-two (22) people were arrested New Year’s Eve weekend for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) of alcohol and/or drugs according to preliminary reports from state and local law enforcement agencies and the Office of Highway Safety, down from thirty-nine (39) last New Year’s Eve weekend.

In addition to the 22 DUI arrests, officers issued 1 citation for an underage drinking violation, apprehended 9 wanted individuals, made 7 drug arrests, made 8 felony arrests, and issued 8 seat belt citations, 2 child restraint citations, 3 cell phone citations and 244 citations for various other traffic violations.

New Year’s Eve also signaled the end of the 2012 Checkpoint Strikeforce and Safe Family Holiday campaigns.  With the 22 DUI arrests from New Year’s Eve weekend, that brings the total number of people arrested for DUI as part of the two campaigns to 402.  The year also ended with an overall 4,922 DUI arrests statewide, up from 2011 which ended with 4,230 DUI arrests statewide.  However this is a significant decrease from 2006-2009 when Delaware was experiencing total year ending DUI arrests over 6,000 per year.

Alcohol related fatalities made up 46% of the total motor vehicle crash fatalities for 2012, a decrease from 47% in 2011, but up from 2010 when only 40% were alcohol related.

During the Safe Family Holiday campaign, OHS tracked alcohol-related deaths and injuries that occurred between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.  Partners that displayed the DUI Victim Trees placed colored bulbs on the trees to represent each victim of an impaired driving crash.  Five people were killed in alcohol related crashes during the 2012 holiday season and 57 others were injured compared to the 2011 holiday season when 2 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes and 27 others were injured.  The tree can be viewed online at www. DUIRealTime.com/Safe-Holidays.

Delaware Highway Safety officials are reporting that preliminary end of year total traffic fatalities have increased by 12% from 2011.  While these are preliminary figures, there were 110 fatal motor vehicle crashes resulting in 116 fatalities in 2012.  In comparison, 103 people were killed in traffic collisions the year before.  Within the past twelve years, the highest number of traffic fatalities that occurred in Delaware was in 2003 with 148 total traffic fatalities followed by 2006 with 147.   The lowest years were 2010 and 2011 with 103 traffic fatalities for each year.

“The increase in highway fatalities over the last year is very concerning.  Our priority is continuing to educate our citizens about the many dangers they face on our highways in an effort to reduce fatal crashes. However, given the 37% increase in pedestrian crashes we will place an added focus on pedestrian safety. It is important that drivers and pedestrians do their part in reducing these fatal crashes. Together we can make a difference,” said Lewis D. Schiliro, Secretary of Safety and Homeland Security.

The major increase in the traffic fatalities were in pedestrian and bicycle crashes.  There were a total of 30 pedestrian fatalities in 2012 compared to 19 in 2011 and 4 bicyclist killed in 2012 compared to 0 in 2011.

“The Office of Highway Safety remains committed to implementing sound initiatives designed to encourage safer driving on Delaware roads,” said Jana Simpler, Director of The Office of Highway Safety.  “We will continue to work with our safety partners to develop campaigns to protect all motorists on our roads, and especially our most vulnerable users, pedestrians and bicyclists.”

Seat belt use has remained consistent across Delaware.  Delaware’s seat belt use rate remains at 90% for 2012. The national seat belt use rate is 86%.  Seat belt use rate is determined by highway safety officials who conduct a series of observational seat belt surveys at various locations of motorists traveling on roads throughout the state and recording whether drivers and passengers are wearing seat belts.  Motorists on all types of roadways from interstates to two-lane roads are observed.

Motorcycle crashes still remain a concern but dipped slightly in 2012 with 16 fatal crashes that resulted in 17 lives lost compared to 2011 with 17 fatal crashes and 18 lives lost.  One positive note is that helmet seems to be increasing with riders.  Sixty five (65%) of the riders killed in 2012 were wearing helmets compared to 44% in 2011.  “We are grateful to see the increase in helmet use within the motorcycle community,” said Alison Kirk, Community Relations Officer for OHS.  “Motorcycle riders are also vulnerable users on our roadways and it is encouraging to know that they are being proactive with their safety and wearing helmets.”

Delaware has seen additional improvements with total aggressive driving related fatal crashes decreasing on the roadways in 2012.  Of the 110 total fatal vehicle crashes in 2012, 32% were aggressive driving related, compared to 39% of all fatal crashes in 2011.  The top two predominate contributing aggressive driving behaviors that continue to cause crashes are speeding and failure to yield the right of way.  Combined, they contributed to 24 of the 36 aggressive driving related fatal crashes.

As 2013 begins, OHS will conduct its first DUI enforcement mobilization of the new year, centered around the NFL playoffs.  Beginning in January, twenty-two state and local law enforcement agencies will be conducting DUI saturation patrols on Saturdays and Sundays during the NFL playoffs culminating in Super Bowl Sunday enforcement activities. NFL enforcement is followed by night time seat belt enforcement, motorcycle enforcement, and St. Patrick’s DUI enforcement in March.

For more information on these or any of our other campaign efforts follow us on Twitter @DEHighwaySafe, visit our website for updates at www.ohs.delaware.gov, www.DUIRealTime.com/Safe-Holidays or Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE.