With the holiday season underway, Delaware already has as many roadway fatalities as all of last year.
Delaware has 139 traffic fatalities this year as of Wednesday afternoon after having 139 in all of 2021, and that was the most fatalities since 2006.
The number could go considerably higher as last year there were 33 fatalities in November and December.
That’s because last year there were 33 fatalities in November and December, prompting the Office of Highway Safety to launch its “Safe Family Holiday” campaign.
That seeks to curb the leading causes of holiday crashes - driving under the influence, speeding, and distracted driving - by encouraging drivers to make responsible choices on the roads.
On top of the deaths, more than 8,200 people were seriously injured in crashes in 2021
DelDOT’s C.R. McLeod says driving under the influence is one major factor for the crashes.
"Drugs and alcohol being a contributing factor in about a third of all of our fatalities, and that's something we can't stress enough if you're going to be drinking either please make plans so you don't have to drive,” said McLeod. “What our real message here is we want to have people avoid becoming statistics themselves."
McLeod notes speeding and inattentive driving are also factors which could be contributing to more than 30% of single vehicle crashes this year.
McLeod says it’s not only drivers and passengers getting killed in vehicle crashes.
"To date we have had 28 pedestrian fatalities and that's up 20% over last year. We've also seen an increase in bicyclists being killed on roads this year as well. So, it's really all modes of transportation have seen a number of fatalities. We've had 21 motorcyclists killed on Delaware roads," said McLeod.
McLeod notes DelDOT has seen significant increases in two-lane road crashes and cars drifting off the roadway.
Public safety officials remind people to wear seatbelts, never drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol, obey posted speed limits, and avoid driving distracted or aggressively.
