GDOT/GOHS Press release:
Georgia 2013 Highway Fatalities Down For 8th Consecutive Year
The number of fatalities on Georgia highways fell again in 2013, the eighth straight year traffic crash deaths in the state have declined. The Georgia Department of Transportation and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) announced today that there were 1,186 persons killed as a result of crashes on state roads last year. That total is 13 less than in 2012 and 562 fewer than 2005’s record of 1,748.
“The reduction in fatalities over eight years means that more than 500 additional persons will get to celebrate the life events that are special to us all,” GOHS Director Harris Blackwood noted. “Each number represents a family that has been spared from the horror of learning that a loved one has been killed in a motor vehicle crash. We must continue to work toward reducing injuries and death on Georgia roads.”
Georgia DOT Commissioner Keith Golden noted an array of efforts by Blackwood’s agency and his own department’s Traffic Operations Office are constantly being refined and employed to improve highway safety and reduce fatalities, injuries and crashes. “We are gratified by the continuing progress of these efforts,” Golden commented.
Continuing areas of concern are bicyclists, which increased from 19 to 26 deaths and pedestrians – up 11 for the year to 178. Georgia DOT’s “Complete Streets” policy was put in place last year and is aimed in part to help reduce these incidents. “Complete Streets is a long-term, broad initiative to design and build our transportation infrastructure in a way that best serves all of its users, be they drivers, bicyclists or pedestrians,” Department Chief Engineer Russell McMurry noted. “Growing segments of the population using our system, especially in metropolitan areas, are cyclists and walkers. The system must accommodate and protect them.”
Toward Zero Deaths: A National Strategy on Highway Safety is a data-driven effort focusing on identifying and creating opportunities for changing American culture as it relates to highway safety. The effort focuses on developing strong leadership and champions in the federal, state and local organizations that can directly impact highway safety through engineering, enforcement, education, emergency medical service (EMS), policy, public health, communications, and other efforts.
The mission of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is to educate the public on traffic safety and facilitate the implementation of programs that reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities on Georgia roadways. See more at: http://www.gahighwaysafety.org/about/mission/#sthash.hbTu7g4l.dpuf
The Georgia Department of Transportation is committed to providing a safe, seamless and sustainable transportation system that supports Georgia’s economy and is sensitive to both its citizens and its environment. For more information on Georgia DOT, please visit www.dot.ga.gov or subscribe to our Press Release RSS feed. You also may follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/GeorgiaDOT) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/gadeptoftrans).