Georgia is on track for 1,200 traffic fatalities this year, a reversal of nine years of declines.
Stand up for the facts!
Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.
I would like to contribute
Georgia has seen 465 people die on roadways this year, even before the busy summer driving season
Georgia on pace for 1,200 roadway deaths?
PolitiFact Georgia was revving up for the summer driving season when a statement from the head of the Georgia Department of Transportation caught our attention.
The state is on pace to see 1,200 people lose their lives on Georgia roads this year, Commissioner Russell McMurry said in news reports. If that happens, it would be a reversal after nine years of declines.
Is that possible, even before the busy season of summer? We set aside our packing – we’ll decide on a bikini or one-piece later – and decided to check.
As recently as January, PolitiFact Georgia confirmed that road fatalities appeared to be declining again in Georgia.
But by April, when five Georgia Southern nursing students died in a pileup crash outside Savannah, scores of single-car crashes had sent the trend line in the other direction.
As of Tuesday morning, 465 people had been killed in vehicle crashes in Georgia, state DOT data show. That’s 69 more deaths, or 17 percent more, than during the same period in 2014.
That keeps Georgia with an average of 100 deaths a month, which would result in a year-end total of 1,200 deaths for the first time since 2011.
It would also be the first year-to-year increase in nine years, as this chart shows:
Year
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Totals
1,505
1,298
1,250
1,236
1,199
1,189
1,169
So the GDOT commissioner is right on the overall numbers – a scary enough prospect.
But to compare apples to apples, it’s worth calculating the rates of death as well.
That is, would the current pace create the first year deaths don’t decline relative to the number of cars on the road, too?
Yes, according to data from the state Department of Revenue. The number of vehicles registered annually is:
Year
Featured Fact-check
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Totals*
8.64
8.57
8.59
8.71
8.92
8.32
8.80
9.12
*In millions, rounded
In 2008, there were about 8.6 million registered vehicles in Georgia. That translates into 1.7 deaths for every 10,000 registered car or truck.
In 2014, with nearly 8.8 million registered vehicles but fewer fatalities, the rate dropped to .1.3 deaths for every 10,000 vehicles.
Should Georgia stay on pace to an even 1,200 deaths – improbable but an exact number to compare against the 9.1 million vehicles registered this year – the rate holds at 1.3 deaths.
It’s not an increase, of course.
But it’s not the steady decline in rate, as well as overall numbers, that transportation officials had hoped to see continue and that McMurry noted.
And, the rate still means that more people are dying in traffic accidents at a time when the state has seen 95 percent compliance in seat belt usage – a large factor in reducing fatalities, said Teri Pope, a spokeswoman for the Northeast DOT region.
DOT data shows that 62 percent of people killed in crashes are not wearing the simple safety devices.
"A lot of these deaths are preventable, and that’s the heartbreaking part of it," Pope said.
In other words, driver behavior is the, well, driver of the spike in roadway deaths.
In an effort to counter that, the DOT has partnered with the Governor’s Office on Highway Safety and the state Department of Public Safety to launch the Drive Alert, Arrive Alive campaign.
The effort focuses on education efforts about the dangers of driving drowsy or while using mobile phones – both considered distracted driving – and greater enforcement of seat belt usage and safe driving.
In other words, PolitiFact Georgia expects to see lots of safety reminder signs and state troopers on the roads. You should, too.
Our ruling
Georgia DOT Commissioner Russell McMurry said in recent news reports that the state is on pace to see 1,200 people die in traffic accidents this year – all before the start of the busy summer driving season. Transportation numbers back up that claim.
That data, and figures about the number of registered vehicles in the state, also confirm that would be the first time in nine years that Georgia has not seen a decline in those deaths.
We rate the commissioner’s statement True.
Our Sources
The Augusta Chronicle, "A sharp rise in road fatalities is prompting Georgia officials for a seat belt crackdown," May 12, 2015
PolitiFact Georgia, "DOT sign counts roadway deaths," Feb. 2, 2015
PolitiFact Georgia, "Distracted driving behind the jump in roadway fatalities," April 28, 2015
TravelSmart blog, Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry, "For Emily’s Sake," May 11, 2015
Georgia Department of Transportation, roadway fatality data as of May 19, 2015
Georgia Department of Revenue, vehicle registration data, May 18, 2015
Email and phone interview, Teri Pope, spokeswoman for Northeast Region of Georgia Department of Transportation, May 18 and 19, 2015
Email interview, Nick Genesi, spokesman for Georgia department of Revenue, May 18, 2015
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by April Hunt
Georgia on pace for 1,200 roadway deaths?
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.