Fayette ranks high in traffic fatalities
Although Fayette County ranks 23rd in population out of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, it ranked 18th in highway fatalities for a recent five-year period. According to statistics compiled by the state Department of Transportation, there were 131 fatalities in Fayette County between 1996 and 2000, which led to the rank of 18 out of 67. Coincidentally, the county also includes 2,073 road miles, which gives it a rank of 18 in that category as well.
Of the 131 fatalities, 73 people were not wearing seatbelts. As a way to encourage everyone to wear their seatbelts, police and other agencies kicked off the “Buckle Up PA” campaign Tuesday.
Jay Ofsanik, safety press officer for the state Department of Transportation, said about 45 percent of those killed in unbelted crashes would likely survive if they had just reached over and buckled up. He said there are recent accidents in which unbelted passengers have died and belted people have walked away from the accident.
“It does make a difference,” he said.
Statewide, seatbelt usage is 70.6 percent. Ofsanik said one of the problems may be that Pennsylvania’s seatbelt law is a secondary law, which means police can only ticket for not usage if another violation is committed as well. However, Ofsanik said whether or not you can get a ticket just for a seatbelt violation should not matter.
“It really is the first line of defense in an accident,” Ofsanik said.
Ofsanik said everyone should wear a seatbelt whenever riding in a vehicle, wherever they are. He said three out of four accidents occur within 25 miles of home.
In Fayette County between 1996 and 2000, 47 deaths were drivers between the ages of 16 and 24; 29 were over the age of 65 and 61 died in alcohol related crashes. Also, 38 died in head-on crashes; 21 struck trees; 49 hit fixed objects; 111 died on state highways and 29 perished on local roads.
State and local police departments have been pushing awareness of seatbelt use and have done campaigns to encourage seatbelt use.
Although statistics for 2001 have not been released, in the year 2000, 19 people died in crashes in Fayette County, giving the county a rank of 26 for that year. Of that number eight were not wearing their seatbelts. Five of those killed were between the ages of 16 and 24 and one was over 65.