The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

Opinion

Discussion

December 28, 2010

Highway projects, better law enforcement likely are the cause of drop in deaths

Enid News and Eagle

Is it possible recent investments Oklahoma has made in its highway transportation system are paying off in fewer lives lost in traffic accidents?

Oklahoma Highway Patrol says the state is on pace for its fewest number of traffic-related fatalities in more than a decade. Of course, OHP is touting more aggressive enforcement of seat belt use as one reason for the decline, and we believe that is partly true.

However, Oklahoma Department of Transportation maintains a database on transportation statistics in the state, and one of the items tracked on a monthly basis is accident and fatality statistics.

The total number of fatalities on non-turnpike highways is down from 433 in 2009 to 311 at the end of November. The number of highway fatalities resulting from crossover accidents in non-turnpike-divided highways was down from 13 in 2009 to five for 2010 at the end of November.

Many of Oklahoma’s non-turnpike highways, as well as hundreds of bridges, have been in disrepair for a number of years, and ODOT began prioritizing projects to fix those problems about four years ago. Repairs made to many dangerous roads and bridges likely is part of the reason traffic fatalities are down.

ODOT uses accident statistics to prioritize problem roadways. ODOT has a continuous multi-year plan in place every year for road and bridge projects, something started a few years ago as the Legislature finally began investing more in road and highway infrastructure.

We’d like to think these improvements have made and will continue to make Oklahoma roadways safer. Good law enforcement in regards to seat belt use, drunk driving and inattentive driving also are key to saving lives on our roadways.

There is no doubt continued investment in the state’s highways will help save lives and hopefully continue to drive these traffic fatality numbers downward every year.

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