U.S., Va. road deaths down

Finally, some good news associated with the troubled economy and high gas prices: Americans are driving less, and fewer are being killed on the nation’s highways.

Several studies in recent weeks have suggested that the highway death toll is headed for the lowest level since 1961 because people are changing their driving habits because of tough economic times.

The latest study comes from the Transportation Research Institute at the University of Michigan, which found that as gas prices rose, driving and fatalities declined.

Those findings would seem to be supported by the numbers in Virginia, which in 2007 surpassed 1,000 highway fatalities for the first time in 17 years. Fatalities are down significantly this year, but Virginia State Police say less driving may not be the only reason.

“Higher gas prices are likely contributing to the lower fatality count, but we don’t have the data to say that it is the only factor,“ Sgt. Tom Cunningham said.

Through Monday, Virginia State Police had reported 538 traffic fatalities so far in 2008, a 16.1 percent decrease over the 642 reported in the same period last year.

But Cunningham said 2007 was marked by an unusually high number of motorcycle deaths in Virginia, and he said this year’s 538 total figure compares favorably with the 564 for the same period in 2005 and the 592 in 2006.

“We’re hopeful that the safety messages that our partnering agencies—the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Department of Motor Vehicles—are sending out with the state police are also helping produce positive results,“ Cunningham said.

Those messages include obeying the speed limit, buckling up, avoiding distractions, sharing the road and driving drugand alcohol-free.

The National Safety Council has compiled figures showing that 31 states saw declines of at least 10 percent in the first five months of 2008, and some reported declines of 20 percent or more. Nationally, the council reported a 9 percent drop in motor vehicle deaths overall through May compared with the first five months of 2007.

Michael Sivak, author of the University of Michigan study, said the numbers suggest motorists reached what he calls a tipping point and have begun significantly changing their behavior—altering not only how much they drive, but where, when and how they drive.

Sivak predicts that highway deaths this year could drop below 37,000 for the first time since 1961, when it totaled 36,285. The number peaked in 1972 at 55,600, then generally declined over the next two decades. It has hovered in recent years above 42,000 annually.
Staff writer Joe Macenka and The Associated Press contributed to this report.