New DOT report shows mix of data regarding Alaskan, national driving deaths

A

by the U.S. Department of Transportation shows an overall decline in driving fatalities, but increases in the numbers of certain types of deaths.

The data, released by the department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, shines a light on highway crash fatality data for 2018. For Alaska, the numbers are a mixed bag of good and not-so-good news.

There was a decline in fatalities overall across the U.S. in 2018 by about 2.4 percent, marking the second consecutive year of reduced crash fatalities, with most all of those deadly incidents occurring during dark hours.

The data, compiled by the fatality analysis reporting system also shows that highway fatalities decreased in 2018 by 913, down to 36,560 people from 37,473 the year before.

The fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled also decreased by 3.4 percent, the lowest rate since 2014.

As for Alaska, the recent report shows that while there were more fatalities on our highways, there were fewer alcohol-impaired-driving deaths. In 2017, there were 79 total fatalities, with 28 percent of them related to alcohol-impaired-driving. In 2018, there were 80 driving fatalities, 29 of them alcohol-impaired-driving-related, equating to about 36 percent. The change for total fatalities went up a little more than 1 percent, but the change in alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities increased by almost 32 percent.