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 The Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall passes through downtown Wapakoneta Wednesday, September 1. Staff photo/William Laney By CARLA MEYER
Staff Writer
For 45 minutes, the roar of motorcycles could be heard passing under an American flag hanging from two ladder trucks. For 45 minutes, area residents gathered in the shadow of the Auglaize County Courthouse and Wapakoneta Fire Station waved and clapped as motorcyclists rode by.
The smiles and waves turned into clapping and cheers as the Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall passed down Willipie Street on its way to Custenborder Field in Sidney where it was greeted by a field of American flags.
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Friday, 06 February 2009 |
By KAREN CAMPBELL
Assistant Managing Editor
High gasoline prices and a struggling economy may be reasons more people are driving less often and fewer miles and thus reducing the number of lives lost on highways, according to a national traffic study released this week.
Automobile fatalities declined in 40 states during 2008, according to a survey of state highway safety agencies. This could be a sign traffic deaths could dip to their lowest levels in four decades.
According to the survey released by the Governors Highway Safety Association, vehicle deaths dropped by an average of 10.7 percent among most of the 44 states and the District of Columbia, which were surveyed. In Ohio, fatalities decreased 4 percent.
“It’s been six months since we’ve had a fatal here,” Sgt. Tom Brookhart of the Wapakoneta Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said of the decrease in fatalities locally.
“I don’t know that we’ve ever gone that long without one,” he said. “That’s been through bad weather and the holidays and the fall. Usually, with an average of six to 10 a year we’re having one or so a month.”
Auglaize County has not had a fatal traffic crash since July 25 when Arthur Schaub rode his scooter off Cemetery Road.
Mercer County, which troopers from the Wapakoneta Post also cover, has not had one since Sept. 5 when two people were killed on Ohio 219.
“I don’t know that we’re doing anything different,” Brookhart said. “Cars aren’t getting any safer. I don’t have any traffic counts, but when the price of gas went up, people started driving less. It still seems like there are fewer vehicles on the road even now that the price is back down.
“I think we’ve hit a lucky streak and combined with less people driving, I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that it continues,” he said.
Besides luck, Brookhart thought a steady increase in people wearing seatbelts also may be helping keep people alive during crashes.
He said typically the number of crashes increases during winter months. Troopers were busy in December, handling 120 case — more than he remembers in similar time periods — but most of them were minor.
“A lot of little things add up to whether a crash is fatal of not, how hard the impact is, where it was, and the age and physical condition of the driver,” Brookhart said.
Throughout 2008, Auglaize County had four fatalities. Six people were killed on Auglaize County roads in 2007 and eight were killed in 2006.
Throughout Ohio, the state reported 1,074 fatalities in 2008, 89 less than in 2007, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
While high gasoline prices in the beginning of 2008 and difficult economic conditions in the later half of the year are being cited as big factors in the decline of traffic fatalities, other factors add up to fewer deaths, Governors Highway Safety Association Executive Director Barbara Harsha said.
She said declines also could be attributed to seat belt use reaching a record high of 83 percent in 2008 and increased enforcement of traffic laws. Many states also reported that drivers were reducing speeds to boost fuel efficiency.
Alaska, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia all saw fatality declines of 20 percent or more during 2008.
Among large states, Florida saw a drop of 6.8 percent in highway fatalities, Illinois’ rate fell by 16 percent and Michigan’s declined by 7.7 percent.
Fatalities increased in Vermont, Wyoming, Delaware and New Hampshire. Several states, including California, Texas, New York and Pennsylvania did not participate in the survey.
Results were consistent with a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in December that reported with 31,110 auto fatalities, rates dropped 10 percent in 2008 from the months of January through October.
If the trend continued during the last two months of 2008, highway deaths could reach their lowest level in the 42 years the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been keeping record
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 07 February 2009 )
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