Rising traffic deaths worry Iowa officials

DES MOINES - Distractions, drinking and seat-belt dereliction are driving up the death toll on Iowa roadways.

State officials are eyeing strategies to reverse the uptick, including seeking legislation to take electronic devices out of drivers' hands, toughen Iowa's anti-texting law and beef up ways to deter drunken driving once GOP Gov. Terry Branstad and the Republican-led Legislature convene the 2017 session in January.

Statistics from the Iowa Department of Transportation show 350 people have died on Iowa highways so far this year until Friday - a number running 71 higher than the same period through mid-November of 2015 and already topping the yearly death toll in the past three years.

'It's a bad year. We're going to be up there I'm afraid,” said Dennis Kleen, an Iowa DOT official who tracks data within the Office of Driver Services.

Overall traffic fatalities stood at 320 last year, 322 in 2014 and 317 in 2013, but Iowa may be on pace to top 400 deaths by Dec. 31 for the first time since 2008, said Steve Gent, an official in Iowa DOT's Office of Traffic and Safety.

'Obviously, we're unbelievably concerned with these numbers. We hope this isn't a trend, but it doesn't look good,” Gent said.

Iowa drivers logged a record 33,109 travel miles last year and are on pace to top that again in 2016 with average gas prices down from past years and more registered vehicles on the road - raising the likelihood of more crashes with some resulting in deaths, Iowa DOT experts said.

Prolonged warm fall weather has contributed to an increase in motorcycle fatalities - with 58 already reported this year compared with 41 for all of 2015 - and more bicyclists have died on Iowa roads compared with previous years, Kleen said.

Alcohol-related crashes usually account for up to 30 percent of the highway deaths and that likely will be the case again this year, he noted.

Another troubling statistic for state officials is that more than 40 percent of this year's traffic crash victims were not wearing seat belts, even though overall usage is hovering at around 93 percent among Iowans.

Gent said the 7 percent who don't use seat belts generally are 'risk takers” who may be younger drivers or those who drive while impaired.

'We've all talked about it forever and ever that the most effective thing you do to not die or get seriously injured in your car is put that seat belt on,” he said. 'If that type of a statistic doesn't paint the picture, then I'm not sure what else does.”

Iowa currently requires drivers and front-seat passengers to be belted, but only passengers under age 18 in back seats are covered by the seat-belt mandate.

Patrick Hoye, a former Iowa State Patrol chief who leads the Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau, said a task force looking at transportation issues may recommend a law change to require all vehicle occupants to be restrained while traveling.

Hoye is facilitating the task force organized by Branstad to look at ways to combat distracted, drunken and drowsy driving and make recommendations to him for next year's Legislature.

The group already has identified 66 proposals aimed at getting drunken and impaired drivers off the road through stepped-up enforcement, prevention, education and adjudication.

Task force members now are looking at distractions, Hoye said, with the likelihood state law enforcement agencies again will ask lawmakers to move texting from a secondary to a primary offense.

And, he said, 'I would not be surprised” to see a recommendation for a hands-free bill that would bar drivers from using hand-held devices like cellphones while driving. At least 14 states have taken that step to reduce the distraction of drivers taking their hands off the steering wheel and eyes off the road to operate a device.

'We believe that when you are texting and driving, you're not just putting yourself at danger, you're putting anyone else that is driving down the road in danger so, obviously, we are a strong proponent of strengthening anything that would deal with distracted driving,” Hoye said. While there are other distractions, he said hand-held devices represent 'the worst of the worst.”

Crashes caused by distractions such as texting are hard to track and likely go underreported, Kleen said, but Hoye noted that a significant jump in wrecks involving 'lane departures” point to drivers' attention to the roadway being diverted or distracted.

'Certainly, as we all drive around, we see people using and looking at their phones and that's really unfortunate because it's taking their minds and their eyes away from the task at hand, which is to drive and drive safe,” Gent said.

Iowa roadways are being designed and built with safety features and new vehicles are equipped with air bags, advanced braking and other safety advancements, Gent said, but they are being offset by operator-related factors that contribute to traffic crashes and deaths.

Republicans will hold majorities in both chambers of the Legislature for the next two years, but officials said it is too early to predict how proposals aimed at making roads safer will fare.

But Hoye said safety issues usually are bipartisan and 'rise to the top” when policymakers see a need for change.