It’s a sobering statistic - traffic deaths across the country reached 35,092 last year, according to newly released figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
It’s the biggest leap in the last 50 years.
“People are more distracted nowadays than they have ever been. They are not paying attention to the job of driving,” said Sgt. Collin Stosberg of the Missouri Highway Patrol.
Stosberg works as the public information officer for Troop A, which serves Bates, Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Henry, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Pettis, Platte, Ray and Saline counties.
Missouri Highway Patrol Troop A's fatality totals as of August 30, 2016. Graphic courtesy MHP.
This year already, Stosberg has seen a 21 percent increase in traffic fatalities. The biggest factors include texting while driving, unbuckled seatbelts and drunk driving.
“The worst part we do is going to these crashes, picking up pieces and telling their loved ones they are not coming home,” he said. “It not only affects families, it affects communities, affects schools. It’s something we want to try and avoid doing.”
Missouri only requires drivers, front-seat passengers and children to wear seatbelts. If a driver has a learning permit, all passengers are required to wear one.
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Ariel Rothfield can be reached at Ariel.Rothfield@KSHB.com.
