Traffic fatalities are trending upward for 2015

Dover – Highway safety officials are urging motorists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians to focus on the task of driving and/or safely crossing the road.  May, June and July have seen an above-average number of fatalities as compared to the five-year average. Statewide, there were 34 fatalities between May and July and a total of 62 persons have lost their lives in fatal crashes this year.

A variety of factors are at work in causing the crashes according to fatality reports, but what appear to be common factors are speed, impairment, and unsafe crossing by pedestrians. The months of June and July have seen an increase in speed related crashes; July has 13 crashes alone.  Of those 13 crashes, five of them were crashes where a pedestrian died.  Since January 1^st of this year there have been a total of 18 pedestrian fatalities, compared to 10 at this time last year.

“An overwhelming majority of crashes are preventable. Using crosswalks, limiting your distractions and slowing down can prevent you from being involved in a crash,” said Jana Simpler, Director for the Office of Highway Safety.

Motorcycle crashes are also trending upward with 9 fatalities to date this year. There were 15 motorcycle fatalities in all of 2014.  Factors leading to motorcycle crashes include speed and loss of control.  “With many more warm riding days ahead, we urge motorcyclists to freshen up their riding skills and take one of the rider training courses offered by DMV or other partners,”  said Alison Kirk Community Relations Officer, Office of Highway Safety. “If the crash trend continues, we may end with more motorcycle fatalities than last year.”

OHS reminds all drivers to go back to the basics of driving safety:  slow down, don’t drink and drive and always buckle up.  Plan extra time to get to any destination so you don’t let traffic frustration cause you to make a bad decision behind the wheel.

Follow OHS for regular updates on Facebook ArriveAliveDE, Twitter @DEHighwaySafe, and www.ohs.delaware.gov.

You would never get into a roller coaster without putting on a seat belt, so why would you get into a car without wearing one? OHS wants to remind everyone that speed thrills but it also kills.

What you need to know

Did you know that a crash at just 40 mph has the same impact as falling from a six-story building? Here are some facts that you need to know:

• 124 people lost their lives on Delaware roadways in 2014.
• Speed was the primary contributing factor in almost 40% of these fatal car crashes.
• Most speed related crashes occurred on roads that had a 50 mph speed limit.

What you can do

Speed and curves are a thrilling combination on a roller coaster. But in a car, they are a deadly combination, especially if you’re not wearing a seat belt. To keep yourself and the other passengers in your vehicle safe, take the following safety precautions:

• Buckle up. Just like when you board a roller coaster, it doesn’t matter if you are in the front seat or the back seat, everyone should be buckled safely before the vehicle moves.
• Be alert. A roller coaster is designed to travel safely on a carefully engineered track. Motor vehicles are controlled by the operator who must watch for signs and then obey those signs.

Speeding greatly reduces the driver’s ability to slow a vehicle when necessary or to steer safely around an unexpected curve, another vehicle or hazardous object in the roadway. There is a reason for posted speed limits. They are designed to protect everyone: drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.

And if you need another caution sign, Delaware law enforcement officers are on the lookout to slow down speeding drivers and ensure all motorists are buckled up. Don’t take the risk. Speed thrills but it also kills.

Slow Down. Buckle Up. Arrive Alive DE.

Dover – As we welcome a new year and hopefully a safer year, Delaware Highway Safety officials are reporting preliminary end of year total traffic fatalities. In 2014, Delaware saw a twenty percent (20%) increase in traffic fatalities compared to 2013. Delaware experienced 101 fatalities in 2013 compared to 125 in 2014.   Within the past twelve years, the highest number of traffic fatalities that occurred in a single year in Delaware was in 2003 with 148 total traffic fatalities followed by 2006 with 147.   The lowest year was 2013 with 101 traffic fatalities.

“With nearly half (46%) of our highway fatalities resultin g from impaired driving and another 43% of those fatalities stemming from a failure to wear a seatbelt, the tragedy is that these deaths were preventable. The increase in highway fatalities over the past year is quite concerning as our motorists need to understand the consequences of their action,” said Lewis D. Schiliro, Secretary of Safety and Homeland Security.

Impairment by alcohol and other drugs continues to be a major factor in overall traffic crashes and fatalities. Alcohol and drug related fatalities made up forty-seven percent (47%) of the total motor vehicle crash fatalities, This is a slight increase from 2013. The major increases in fatalities involved motor vehicle occupants involved in traffic crashes as compared to other highway users, including pedestrians and motorcyclists.   In addition, tragically there were twelve crashes in which more than one person was killed. Contributing factors to the multiple fatality crashes included speed and/or impaired driving.

New Year’s Eve signaled the end of the 2014 Checkpoint Strikeforce and Safe Family Holiday campaigns. With the 12 DUI arrests from New Year’s Eve, that brings the total number of people arrested for DUI in Delaware to 4,086 in 2014, down from 2013 in which 4,249 persons were arrests for DUI statewide.

“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.”

Seat belt use has increased slightly across Delaware last year. Delaware’s seat belt use rate is currently ninety-two percent (92%) compared to the national seat belt use rate of eighty-seven percent (87%). Motorcycle fatalities decreased twenty-five percent (25%) from 2013 to 2014. In 2013, twenty motorcyclists lost their lives on Delaware roads and in 2014, that number was fifteen. Pedestrian and bicycle fatalities both saw a slight increase from 2013. There were three bicycle fatalities in 2014 compared to two in 2013. Pedestrian fatalities continue to be a traffic issue with seven occurring in December 2014 alone. There were twenty-seven pedestrian fatalities last year compared to twenty-six the year before. Delaware has previously focused on aggressive driving crashes as a whole but has now turned the focus to speed, the predominate aggressive driving crash factor. Speed has contributed to 44 of the 112 fatal crashes in 2014.

“We will continue our statewide education and outreach efforts in 2015 to make pedestrians aware of safe walking and crossing practices to try and curb the pedestrian safety issues at hand in Delaware,” said Alison Kirk, community relations officer for the Delaware Office of Highway Safety.

As 2015 begins, OHS will conduct its first traffic safety mobilization of the new year focusing on unrestrained and improperly restrained occupants in vehicles, as well as speeding drivers. Beginning January 16, state and local law enforcement agencies across the state will be conducting overtime saturation patrols after 2:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday when this crash problem is at its highest. Examples of improperly worn seat belts are those that are put behind the back or under the arm.  For a seat belt to be effective and save a life, it must be worn properly with the lap belt low and snug across the hips and the shoulder harness worn across the shoulder and chest with minimal slack.

For more information visit our website for updates at www.ohs.delaware.gov, follow us on Twitter @DEHighwaySafe, , or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE.

Crossing the Line video released for Teen Driver Safety Week

Dover- Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the US. During Teen Driver Safety Week (Oct 19-25), the Delaware Teen Driver Task Force released a video titled “Crossing the Line”. The video tells the story of a 2012 fatal crash involving 17 year-old Andre Smith who was a passenger in a speeding vehicle driven by 19 year old driver Mar’Kese Marshall-Horsey. Andre Smith was killed in the crash on April 12, 2012 on Route 896 in Middletown.

Andre Smith was a high school senior and star football player at Appoquinimink High School and was to graduate June 13^th, 2012. Unfortunately Andre did not make it to graduation day. After spending the day with friends and on the way home, Andre was riding in the passenger seat when the driver was speeding and lost control of his SUV, swearing into oncoming traffic. The passenger side was struck by another large vehicle, killing Andre instantly.

Speed was one of the contributing factors in this fatal incident said Sean Lugg, Deputy Attorney General for the Delaware Department of Justice. “If it wasn’t for the speed, this collision would not have happened.”

Between 2011 and 2013, drivers aged 19 years and under were responsible for the most speed related injury crashes (22%) in Delaware.  Male drivers accounted for two-thirds (2/3) of those crashes. Kevin M. Bradley M.D., Associate Medical Director of Trauma at Christiana Care Health System, believes young folks are prone to crashes because there is a sense of invincibility and something bad won’t happen to them. “Speed is a factor in injury, because when traveling at a high rate of speed, you are more prone to get into a crash and following that crash you are more likely to have more severe injuries,” Dr. Bradley said.

Nineteen year old Mar’Kese Marshall-Horsey was the driver in Andre Smith’s fatal crash. He was charged with the reckless killing of his friend. “I lost everything; I lost everything and everybody,” said Marshall-Horsey. “One accident put everything out the window.”

The driver is currently serving a 5-year prison term at Howard Young Correctional Facility as a result of his actions that lead to the fatal crash.

“Crossing the Line” documents the consequences that many have suffered as a result of this tragic crash and will also become part of the revised Driver’s Education curriculum to be distributed to all drivers’ education teachers in the State of Delaware.

The video can be viewed and shared on the Office of Highway Safety Arrive Alive DE YouTube channel http://youtu.be/RLiFdKFOkpU.

With summer over and school back in session, the Delaware Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is reminding motorists to drive safe this fall and save a life by buckling up and slowing down on Delaware roadways.

What you need to know

Did you know that Delaware crash data for this year suggests that speed and improper seat belt use are major contributors in the number of fatalities this year? And the numbers are up. It’s mid-October, and the number of traffic deaths this year has already exceeded the total number of people killed last year on Delaware roadways.

From January 1 through October 17, there have been 102 traffic fatalities in Delaware.

• Sixty seven (67) were vehicle occupants. 42% were not wearing a seat belt.
• Aggressive driving behaviors, like speeding, contributed to 37% of the crashes to date this year.
• In 2013, 40% of the unbelted crashes happened on a Saturday or Sunday.  Saturday is also the most common day for speed-related fatal crashes and Friday has the highest number of speed-related injury crashes.

What you can do

Even one life lost on our roadways is one too many. In an effort to prevent more deaths, OHS has put a new campaign in place that will focus on proper seat belt use and slowing down.

Campaign dates: October 3^rd – 26^th and November 26^th – December 31^st.

• Enforcement:   Police will be looking for speeding drivers and anyone unrestrained or improperly restrained in vehicles. Remember, for a seat belt to be effective and save a life, it must be worn properly with the lap belt low and snug across the hips and the shoulder harness worn across the shoulder and chest with minimal slack.
• Public outreach: OHS has launched a contest on the OHS Facebook page www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE to engage the public about buckling up and slowing down. There will be one puzzle per week during October and December with weekly prizes, including an AAA membership and a guided tour of Dover Air Force Base’s AMC Museum.

For more information, visit www.ohs.delaware.gov. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DEHighwaySafe and Facebook www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE.

Drive Safe. Arrive Alive DE.