State campaigns against traffic deaths

DES MOINES — Iowa officials are zeroing in on traffic deaths, hoping increased focus on safety will erase crashes that claimed 317 lives last year.

Leaders from state transportation, public health and public safety agencies joined Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds to launch a multi-agency 'Zero Fatalities' traffic safety initiative on Monday.

'Last year 317 men, women, and children died on Iowa's highways,' said Branstad — a toll that included 41 motorcyclists, four bicyclists and 14 pedestrians. 'While that is a decrease from years past, we know with simple improvements, we can do much better and prevent traffic deaths.

'If each of us adopts a zero fatalities goal for our families, we can make zero a reality statewide,' the governor told his weekly news conference. 'To achieve this, we all must give full attention to the task of driving when we are behind the wheel.'

So far this year, 129 people have lost their lives in traffic accidents on Iowa roads — a number noted on overhead electronic highway signs operated by the Iowa Department of Transportation. DOT Director Paul Trombino said his agency has heard from people who are uncomfortable with the updated road fatality count but it gets drivers thinking.

Gerd Clabaugh, director of the state Department of Public Health, said more than 32,000 people die in traffic crashes annually in the United States, which would be the equivalent of 90 people perishing in an airplane crash every day.

'That's exactly what's happening on our highways,' said Clabaugh, who noted that motor vehicle crashes ranked as the second-leading cause of trauma-related injuries and deaths in Iowa based on the emergency room data and death certificates processed by his agency, 'As a culture we've come to expect traffic deaths as inevitable, and while our department works to support strong EMS and trauma systems in Iowa, we know more can be done to prevent unnecessary motor vehicle deaths among Iowans,' Clabaugh said.

Last year Iowa participated in a multi-state 'zero fatality' effort on Interstate 80. Now, state officials are collaborating on programs aimed at improving safety on Iowa roads by encouraging Iowans to slow down, drive sober, focus on the road, stay alert and to buckle seat belts for 'every seat, every time.'

The program includes initiatives from each of the partner agencies working to encourage safe driving behaviors; television, radio, and online spots; and a presence on social media, organizers said. To find out more about the program, go to www.zerofatalities.com and click on 'Iowa' in the drop-down box.

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