Safety in numbers

I got a tip from one of my loyal readers (my dad) about an interesting report that had recently been released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Association. While the report in its entirety wasn’t available as of press time, the highlights of the 2007 Traffic Safety Annual Assessment are available on www.nhtsa.gov. True to my No. 1 fan’s word, the results were encouraging … and curious.

Nationally, far fewer people are dying as a result of car accidents. Last year saw a 3.9 percent decline in fatalities, with 41,059 deaths — down from 42,708 in 2006. Clearly, that’s still more than 40,000 lives cut short, but it’s a baby step in the right direction. Statewide, fatalities were down 6.3 percent with 266 fewer deaths reported in 2007 than in 2006.

Other encouraging news was revealed in the assessment; alcohol-related fatalities are down. Nationally, deaths stemming from an accident where alcohol played a role were down 3.7 percent — from 13,491 in 2006 to 12,998 in 2007. Still far too many senseless deaths, but at least the numbers aren’t going up. Call me crazy, but with the direction our country has been headed lately, I’m rather surprised more people aren’t hitting the bottle, so I feel the need to salute this progress.
But how are we stacking up here in our little corner of the world? To put it bluntly, Pasadena is kicking America’s and California’s butts. According to Pasadena police spokeswoman Janet Pope-Givens, authorities counted nine fatalities in 2006, and only six in 2007, making the year-over-year decline a whopping 33 percent. As for alcohol-related fatalities? Also impressive. In 2006, we had two, and last year just one, making the year-over-year decline 50 percent.
Way to go, P-Town.

This was all encouraging news, but these findings also made my brain cramp. The national reduction in fatalities in 2007 was the largest in both numbers and percentage since 1992. Moreover, passenger-car occupant fatalities declined for the fifth consecutive year. That’s to say nothing of the fact that for the first time since 1988 fewer than 2.5 million people were injured in an auto accident.
What’s so curious about this? We recently enacted a law banning the use of cell phones while driving unless we have a hands-free device. This law was put into place ostensibly because using our hands to hold a phone while driving is terribly distracting, not to mention dangerous. By that same token, shouldn’t local statistics show accidents to be on the rise in the years before the law was put in place? And certainly wouldn’t they rise nationwide, as many states have no such law? Perplexing, indeed.

Using the arbitrary five-year benchmark, I confirmed the following statistics with the Pasadena Police Department’s Traffic Section. Looking at the number of auto accidents in Pasadena for the month of July (when the hands-free law took effect), then going back from there five years, I admit it; I’m skeptical.

In July 2003, for example, Pasadena recorded 316 automobile accidents. One year later, that number was down to 222, (a nearly 30 percent reduction.) In 2005 and 2006, the number of accidents rose again, (245, 257 respectively) before dropping again in 2007 to 205 and decreasing slightly again this year to 202 (a 1.5 percent decrease from the same time last year.

Of course, there are countless variables and factors that will contribute to the number or lack thereof auto accidents and, consequently, injuries and fatalities. The seemingly never- ending construction in Pasadena probably plays a big part. Cars are probably safer today, with airbags coming as a standard safety feature. We also put the little ones in car seats, and we seem to keep them there until puberty. Or maybe we’re getting in fewer accidents because we have our cell phones to call others and let them know we’ll be late, instead of zooming to meet them, endangering ourselves and others.

I’m not saying that using a cell phone while driving is a great idea. I’m simply saying that there’s no doubt that more of us use cell phones in our cars than we did in 2003. And I’m quite certain that the number of drivers using cell phones while driving has multiplied exponentially since 1992. So I’m merely throwing out the possibility that perhaps cell phones play less of a role in fatalities and injuries than meets the eye. That they are just another distraction in a long list of distractions we put up with every day when we drive. That accidents and resulting fatalities are really just that; accidents with no rhyme or reason determining their frequency.

Or — and I know I’m going out on a limb here —maybe, just maybe, we’re all becoming better drivers.

Contact Jen Hadley at jmhadley624@yahoo.com.