Idaho’s 2023 traffic deaths already surpass last year’s total
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IDAHO FALLS — More people have been killed on Idaho roads so far this year than in the entire year of 2022. According to data from the Idaho Office of Highway Safety (OHS), 222 people have died in crashes on our roads, surpassing the 215 people killed last year.
“We often think about crashes as isolated incidents, but it adds up to a real crisis on our roads,” said Highway Safety Manager Josephine Middleton in a news release. “The safest thing we can do for ourselves and our communities is to drive engaged. That means seatbelt on, free from distractions and actively scanning the road ahead.”
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Seat belts save lives. Seventy-four of the people killed in crashes this year were not wearing seat belts, according to the news release. In a crash, seat belts increase your odds of survival by nearly 50 percent.
Most frequently, drivers who leave the roadway and crash are the cause of the most fatalities, according to the Idaho Transportation Department. Sixty-seven people have been killed in single-car crashes and 18 have died in single-motorcycle crashes.
Often, these drivers are speeding, driving impaired and/or not wearing a seatbelt, according to officials.
“We see this deadly pattern of speed, impairment and no seatbelt over and over again,” explained OHS Impaired Driving Program Specialist Lisa Losness. “That’s why it’s so important to plan a sober ride home for yourself and call a ride for your friends if they try to drive after drinking.”
Of the deaths on Idaho roads this year
(according to preliminary data)
- 152 were in motor vehicles
- 37 were on motorcycles
- 25 were pedestrians
- Four were on bicycles
- Four were on some other type of vehicle (ATV, UTV, etc.)
The most-common contributing factors
(in no particular order)
- Failure to maintain lane
- Speeding
- Alcohol/Drug impairment
- Failure to yield
- Inattention
- Distracted
- Driving left of the center line
- Failure to obey a stop sign or signal
- Over correcting
- Improper passing