• Font Size    

CBS 2 Most Popular Pages

Celebrity Watcher: Real Or Fake?
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

IDOT: Traffic Deaths Down 16 Percent Last Year

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +   
Jan 8, 2009 12:35 pm US/Central

IDOT: Traffic Deaths Down 16 Percent Last Year

Lower Fuel Prices May Have Helped, Officials Say

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) ― State Transportation officials say 16 percent fewer people died on Illinois highways last year, and higher fuel prices are entitled to some of the credit.

The Illinois Department of Transportation says 1,042 people died in traffic-related wrecks in 2008. That figure is down 206 from the previous year.

Mike Stout of IDOT's safety division says Illinoisans drove about 4 percent fewer miles last year. He suspects that may be partly because lofty gasoline costs encouraged many to conserve by either driving less or slower.

Stout says Illinois highway crashes killed 92 teenagers last year. That figure is down 63 from 2007.

Highway fatalities in many other states also dropped last year, with officials widely crediting higher fuel costs as a contributing factor.

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Editor's Picks

© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.