Safety officials are increasing enforcement measures after a deadly week on Delaware’s roadways.
The Office of Highway Safety is reporting that there were 347 crashes on First State roads between July 1 and July 6, resulting in four fatalities and 113 injuries.
This brings the annual traffic death toll to 70, up 35 percent over this time last year.
Community Relations Officer at the Office of Highway Safety Alison Kirk says that they will be stepping up overtime enforcement through the month of July focusing on factors that are contributing to many of the crashes.
“Speed is definitely one major factor," said Kirk. "You couple speed with distracted driving, impaired driving, running stop signs and redlights and you’re more likely to end in a fatality.”
A sobriety checkpoint is scheduled for Friday July 11 in Bear. Last week a total of 86 drivers were arrested for DUI charges, bringing the DUI arrest total over 2,000 since January 1st 2014.
Kirk says that motorcycle safety will also be a major priority.
“Right now we are currently at 13 motorcycle fatalities in Delaware compared to 8 at this time last year," said Kirk. "We are also seeing a decline in helmet use in those fatalities, where only 23 percent were wearing a helmet compared to 75 percent last year.”
Currently, Delaware law only requires that a helmet be on a motorcycle and does not require the rider to wear it.
According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, About seventeen hundred lives were saved by wearing a motorcycle helmet.
In addition to vehicular safety, officials are also prioritizing pedestrian safety education and prevention by patrolling high pedestrian crash locations and stopping pedestrians who are not walking or crossing safely.
There have been 150 pedestrian crashes this year resulting in 9 deaths and 129 injuries.