Pennsylvania Traffic Deaths in 2015 at Second-Lowest Level Since Record Keeping Began

Pennsylvania Traffic Deaths in 2015 at Second-Lowest Level Since Record
Keeping Began

4/6/2016-KING OF PRUSSIA

Traffic fatalities in Pennsylvania totaled 1,200 in 2015, the second-lowest

since record-keeping began in 1928 and five more than the record low in
2014.

"We and our safety partners continue to work on infrastructure
improvements, as
well as promoting the use of education, enforcement and outreach in efforts
to
influence driver behavior and drive down crash and fatality numbers," said
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Leslie S. Richards. "We

strive to meet the national vision of Zero Fatalities knowing that
transportation impacts Pennsylvanians daily. We urge the motoring public to
be
aware of their driving behavior by observing traffic laws, paying attention
and
using caution."

PennDOT data from police reports shows that while the number of highway
deaths
dropped in many crash types, there were significant decreases in fatalities
in
crashes involving drivers older than 65, aggressive drivers and crashes at
intersections. Deaths in crashes involving drivers 65 years of age and
older
declined to 279 from 300 in 2014. Fatalities in crashes at intersections
decreased from 271 in 2014 to 251 in 2015, while fatalities in crashes
involving aggressive drivers decreased from 134 in 2014 to 119 in 2015.

Fatalities increased in some types of crashes, including those involving
single-vehicle run-off-the-road crashes and hit-fixed-object crashes. There

were 580 fatalities in crashes involving single vehicles that ran off the
road,
up from 534 in 2014. Also, deaths in crashes where drivers hit fixed
objects,
such as trees, increased to 459 from 425 in 2014.

PennDOT has invested approximately $50 million over the last five years for
low
cost safety improvements at nearly 4,800 locations. Types of low-cost
safety
countermeasures include rumble strips, signage, pavement markings and
roadway
delineators.

PennDOT also invests about $20 million annually in state and federal funds
for
safety education and enforcement efforts statewide.

To increase public access to and awareness of crash and fatality
information in
Pennsylvania, PennDOT last year released the Pennsylvania Crash Information

Tool, which allows access to these and other types of crash data.
Supporting
Governor Tom Wolf's dedication to a Government that Works, the tool allows
users to search data pulled from law-enforcement crash reports involving
passengers, drivers and different vehicle types.

The Custom Search Tool, which is accessible at dotcrashinfo.pa.gov and will

include 2015 data in the next few weeks, can be filtered by timeframe,
county
or municipality, and by various crash characteristics. Additional
statistics
available in the site are crash, fatality and major injury statistics as
well
as access to annual crash facts publications.

Continuing with standard personal privacy policy and legal requirements,
the
tool will not provide access to specific police crash reports.

To learn about PennDOT's highway safety efforts visit www.JustDrivePA.com.
Highway safety information is also shared on the department's Facebook page
at
www.facebook.com/PennsylvaniaDepartmentofTransportation, on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/PennDOTNews and on YouTube at
www.youtube.com/PennsylvaniaDOT.

To view a complete list of District 6 News Releases: Click
http://www.penndot.gov/RegionalOffices/district-6/Pages/allnews.aspx

To unsubscribe click
http://www.dot.state.pa.us/PennDOT/Districts/d6media.nsf/unsubscribeform?OpenForm