Ohio, Nebraska See Vehicle Crashes, Fatalities Increase in 2014

Ohio saw more traffic deaths and Nebraska had an increase in vehicle crashes in 2014, according to authorities in both states.

Preliminary data indicate the number of Ohio traffic deaths for the past year might end up above 1,000.

The State Highway Patrol reports 973 fatalities for the year, with at least 37 more deaths being reviewed that haven’t been confirmed as traffic fatalities. As a result, it’s possible the total could be 1,010 or more once reports are completed and officials account for any New Year’s Eve crashes.

Ohio had 990 traffic deaths during 2013, the first time since record-keeping began in 1936 that the number was under 1,000, according to the patrol’s statistics. It had peaked in the late 1960s with more than 2,700 deaths in one year.

It is difficult to pinpoint why some years have more fatal crashes than others or to say that it’s a relatively good year when 1,000 lives were lost, but the agency still sees progress. Overall, the number had been trending downward in recent years, with a five-year average of 1,046 between 2009 and 2013, said Lt. Craig Cvetan, a patrol spokesman.

One factor that troopers credit is an increased focus on offenses that increase the chances of injuries or deaths, such as impaired driving and not wearing a seat belt. Citations in those categories increased in 2014 compared with the previous year, as did the total number of stops, crash investigations and enforcement for drug violations and driving under suspension.

“We encourage officers to take enforcement on those violations that we know cause crashes, and that people are being injured and killed because of,” Cvetan said.

Troopers arrested more than 24,500 people for driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs in 2014. More than 107,000 people — or about 10,000 more than in the previous year — were cited for not wearing seatbelts.

Nebraska’s highway safety administrator says the number of people who died in Nebraska crashes in 2014 likely will be the highest number in five years.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports that as of the morning of Dec. 31, 2014, 221 people had died in crashes. That’s the highest number since the 223 in 2009. Because of the holiday, officials couldn’t provide the final toll for 2014.

Nebraska highway safety administrator Fred Zwonechek says he expects the rate of fatalities per million miles traveled may be lower than last year, however. He expects the miles driven to be higher than 2013 because fuel prices have dropped below $2 a gallon in some parts of Nebraska. Plus, mild weather for Christmas, Thanksgiving and Labor Day led to more trips for people.