Nassau, Suffolk record drops in traffic deaths
This vehicle split another vehicle in half, killing a 21-year-old male driver at 4:05 a.m., at the intersection of Crooked Hill Road and St. Peters Drive in Brentwood. A teenager was killed a year ago at the same intersection. (July 20, 2010) Credit: James Carbone
Fewer people died in car accidents in the United States last year than at any time since 1950, a downward trend mirrored on Long Island in recent years.
Officials say the national decline - there were fewer deaths in 41 states last year - is tied to better enforcement, and safer cars and roadways.
Across New York State, the number of highway fatalities also fell in three of the past five years, national statistics show.
Nationwide, there were 43,510 fatal crashes in the United States in 2005, but 33,808 last year after a decline from 2006 to 2008, according to the government numbers. There were 33,186 U.S. traffic fatalities in 1950.
Traffic fatalities showed a drop each year in Nassau since 2005 and in three of the past five years in Suffolk, according to statistics.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said yesterday in a statement that the numbers indicate, "America's roads are the safest they've ever been."
Federal officials said the reduction nationwide is due to road improvements, improved car safety and enforcement programs.
"I think a reasonable person, a prudent person, would say that the traffic control programs - alcohol enforcement, seat belt enforcement, all of it - is a big factor," National Highway Traffic Safety Administration spokesman Thomas Louizou said. "It's good policies and laws, good high-visibility enforcement and good communication to support it."
Despite the decline in traffic fatalities, better driver training and infrastructure improvements are still needed, said Robert Sinclair, a spokesman for AAA New York.
"Rather than thinking it's historic progress . . . we hope these numbers will not be misapplied and misunderstood to imply we're OK," Sinclair said. "Nothing could be further from the truth."
Sinclair said the national statistics indicate miles traveled by Americans have dropped dramatically in recent years because of higher gas prices, more congestion and a poor economy.
Alcohol-related deaths also fell nationally and in Suffolk.
Nationally, alcohol-impaired driving fatalities declined 7.4 percent in 2009 - 10,839 compared to 11,711 reported in 2008.
In Nassau County, alcohol-related traffic deaths increased from 18 to 19, the same federal statistics show. However over the past five years, alcohol-related fatalities fell by 29.6 percent, with fatalities down to 19 last year from 27 in 2005.
"We are trending in the right direction over the course of the last five years, and we've changed a lot of attitudes on the issue, but we've still have a lot of work left to do," said Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, in a statement.
In Suffolk, alcohol-related fatalities fluctuated from 42 in 2005 to 47 in 2008 but fell to 39 last year.
Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in New York State and nationally are those involving drivers with a blood-alcohol ratio of 0.08 percent.
