Traffic fatalities increased in PA last year. Here’s what it looked like in Centre County

Deaths on Pennsylvania roads increased last year, the state said Wednesday.

Traffic deaths increased by almost 9% in 2021 — to 1,230 — compared to the prior year, the Department of Transportation said.

Crashes where a vehicle left the travel lane accounted for almost half of road fatalities across the state, PennDOT said. Speeding and impaired/distracted driving are the leading factors in these types of crashes.

Deaths in crashes involving impaired driving — which is when a driver is under the effect of any combination of alcohol, drugs or medication — fell but still accounted for more than 35% of the total. Pedestrian deaths rose last year and accounted for 15% of fatalities in the state.

Other crash types with an increase in deaths include:

• Crashes involving a 16- to 17-year-old driver – 45 fatalities, up from 26 in 2020.
• Crashes involving aggressive driving – 126 fatalities, up from 91 in 2020.
• Motorcyclist fatalities – 226, up from 217 in 2020.
• Crashes involving heavy trucks – 156 fatalities, up from 122 in 2020.
• Unrestrained fatalities – 378, up from 348 in 2020.

Centre County bucked the statewide trend with a drop in traffic deaths. There were 10 fatalities in 2021, compared to 14 the previous year. The greatest number of fatalities — seven — occurred in crashes involving both impaired drivers and lane departures, according to PennDOT data. Deaths were classified in multiple crash categories.

Impaired driver crashes rose from five in 2020, while lane departure crashes showed no change from the previous year.

In 2021, six fatalities occurred in Centre County in both drugged driver crashes and single-vehicle crashes into a tree or pole.

Drugged driver crashes had the highest increase in deaths, rising by five from 2020. Single-vehicle off-the-road crash fatalities decreased by one.

Statewide data for the first five months of 2022 is not yet available. In Centre County, last month alone, there were three fatal crashes along state Route 64 in Walker Township.