Federal officials say nationally, traffic deaths from January through March of this year were the highest since 2002. State Department of Transportation spokesman Rodney Mallet says Louisiana numbers are slightly down from last year. But 194 traffic deaths in Louisiana through the first quarter of this year is still very high.
“Based on the data that we had for last year, in which we set the record for fatalities we can see that most of them can be attributed to people not wearing seatbelts, speeding, or driving distracted,” Mallet says.
He adds says they need drivers to double down on taking precautions to avoid serious crashes. Especially by focusing on driving and by putting away distractions.
“We have rumble strips on the roadways now, specifically for folks who start driving distracted and weave. It gives you an opportunity to get back and pay attention,” Mallet says.
Officials are aiming for zero fatalities. Mallet hopes this year’s slight drop in fatalities is the beginning of a downward trend similar to the one between 2017 and 2019.
“What we need is for people to help us achieve our goal even though it seems unrealistic, it would be great if we could see these numbers trend downward,” Mallet says.
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