OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) launched new information to KFOR on fatal accidents all through the state from 2017 to 2021. During that five-year interval, 250 motorists have died on Oklahoma highways, and almost 8,000 motorists had been injured as a result of distracted driving.
A brand new collisions report between 2017 and 2021 exhibits Oklahoma fatal accidents have been slightly decreasing through the years. In 2017 the state had 51 fatal accidents, and annually it slightly decreased with 42 fatal accidents in 2021. ODOT says these distracted driving associated crashes are what’s impacting many of the accidents.
“It is going down slightly, but not enough really for us to really cheer yet… You have control of it yourself, and you’re able to have an impact on getting home safely. So, there’s a few things you can do. You want to put away all distractions every time you get behind the wheel,” mentioned Lisa Shearer-Salim, ODOT spokeswoman.
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The largest classes by age experiencing distracted driving fatalities are those that are between the ages of 31 and 50, and below the age of 21.
Those age classes all noticed precisely 40 fatal accidents between 2017 and 2021.
“This is not just a young person issue… They had equal numbers of fatalities in those three age categories. So that’s a huge indicator of just how pervasive and widespread this issue is in our society,” mentioned Shearer-Salim.
Distracted driving fatalities nonetheless stay among the many main causes of demise on the state’s highways. Other frequent causes of crashes embrace unsafe velocity, driving whereas below the affect, driving left of heart, inattention and failure to cease.
“It’s just one of the reasons why Oklahoma is one of 48 states that has a ban on texting while driving, because we know that those cell phones are a huge cause of distraction going behind the wheel. If you take your eyes off the road for even five seconds to look at a text, that’s the same as driving the length of a football field with your eyes closed. That’s a long way. And a lot can happen in those five to ten seconds. So even though you think, oh, this is just really quick, it could mean the difference between your life and death,” mentioned Shearer-Salim.
The new report from ODOT additionally reveals extra males than girls are dying in distracted driving-related crashes all through the five-year interval.
Another statistic ODOT hopes to beat is the variety of folks not sporting seat belts.
“The seatbelt issue. Oklahoma currently ranks 40th in the nation for buckling up, which is not so great. We’re really encouraging drivers to think about that first and foremost before they ever even start their vehicle, because we want to see those numbers go down. We want to see our Oklahomans get to where they want to go safely… 50% of our fatalities on our highways were not buckled up,” mentioned Shearer-Salim.
It is essential to notice ODOT remains to be engaged on getting the 2022 fatal accident studies. They ought to have that information by this summer season as soon as all departments across the state have submitted their studies. It then it should undergo a verification course of.
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