State traffic deaths reach record low, PennDOT says

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced Monday that traffic deaths in the state have reached a record low.

Traffic fatalities in 2016 totaled 1,188, a PennDOT news release said — seven fewer than 2015 and a new low since record-keeping began in 1928. This decrease in deaths included highway deaths and “significant decreases” in run-off the road, hit fixed object and drinking driver fatalities.

PennDOT credited more than $376 million in Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program funds on 434 unique safety products, the release said. A rollout of the 2017 Strategic Highway Safety Plan released in February also aims to maintain the achievements of previous plans and apply new strategies throughout the state.

“Our biggest priority is to keep the public safe through innovation, roadway improvements and educational outreach,” Gov. Tom Wolf said in the release. “As fatality numbers continue to trend downward, we still need to change driver behavior, keeping in mind that each person killed in a crash is a member of someone’s family.”

This story was originally published April 17, 2017 at 5:55 PM with the headline "State traffic deaths reach record low, PennDOT says."