Motor vehicle fatalities in R.I. dropped 20% in ’14

ATTORNEY GENERAL Peter F. Kilmartin said the number of driving-related fatalities in Rhode Island dropped 20 percent in 2014. He credited increased enforcement and education for the drop. / COURTESY R.I. ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE
ATTORNEY GENERAL Peter F. Kilmartin said the number of driving-related fatalities in Rhode Island dropped 20 percent in 2014. He credited increased enforcement and education for the drop. / COURTESY R.I. ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE

PROVIDENCE – The number of driving-related fatalities in Rhode Island dropped 20 percent to 52 in 2014 from 65 in 2013, Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin said on Wednesday.

Kilmartin credited increased enforcement and education on the drop in fatalities – the lowest number since 1994. The year 2003 had the most fatalities at 104, he said.

He noted that there has been a significant decline in fatalities among young drivers ages 16 to 24. There were eight fatalities in this age group last year. In 2009, there were 22.

Kilmartin also announced that seatbelt use has increased in Rhode Island.

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According to statistics provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 87 percent of all Rhode Islanders reported using their seatbelt every time they got into a motor vehicle in 2014, compared with approximately 75 percent in 2004.

Kilmartin also highlighted steps Rhode Island has taken to improve driver and road safety, including graduated driver licensing for young drivers which includes additional prohibitions on cell phone use, a ban on texting and driving, and a primary seatbelt law.

“Our state leaders should be commended for enacting smart, tough driving laws,” Kilmartin said. “The statistics show that our driving laws are having positive results.”

Col. Steven G. O’Donnell, superintendent of the State Police and director of the state Department of Public Safety, said the reductions are a direct result of additional enforcement in areas where fatal accidents have happened, as well as frequent public messages about DUI arrests and more school education programs.

The number of driving citations issued also has increased in recent years. State Police issued 9,458 seat belt citations in 2014 compared with 7,690 seat belt citations in 2013, a 23 percent increase. DUI arrests by the State Police were relatively the same both years, with 534 in 2014 compared with 561 arrests in 2013.

Texting while driving citations also increased, to 911 in 2014 from 384 in 2013, an increase of 137 percent.

“The increase in violations is not an indicator that more individuals are breaking the law, but rather represents an increase in enforcement efforts. It is very likely that the increase in citations and arrests has a direct correlation to the decrease of fatalities by stopping individuals before they cause a motor vehicle accident,” Kilmartin said.

For several years, the Office of Attorney General and partners Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the R.I. Department of Corrections, the R.I. Department of Transportation and Family Court have hosted the Zero Fatalities Program, an impaired driving and underage drinking program in which high school students are brought to the ACI to hear from young inmates convicted of DWI death resulting and from family members of victims killed in DWI crashes.

Said Kilmartin, “Despite the decline in fatalities, the loss of even one life is one too many. We cannot ease up on enforcement or education just because we have made progress. Success is not measured by a decline in fatalities, but only when we reach zero fatalities year after year.”

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