Commentary; Posted: 11/2/04

Obeying traffic laws helps avoid crashes

By Don Heinzman

This year an estimated 650 people will die in Minnesota highway crashes. The sad fact is most of the fatalities are preventable.

During the past 30 years, the number of licensed drivers has doubled, the number of cars sold has tripled and the number of miles has increased.

Over those same years, the complement of highway troopers has remained the same. The highway patrol operation is funded by the taxes on gasoline and motor vehicle registrations and is not subject to deficits in the general fund.

More troopers are being trained, and itís unclear how many more would significantly reduce the number of fatal accidents, because other factors are involved. Cars are built safer and accident victimsí lives can be saved since they can be airlifted to hospitals.

Studies show that if there were more troopers, more motorists would have the perception that they could get caught if they broke the law.

Minnesota ranks 47th in the number of troopers per capita, but its safety record is much better than that ranking.

The reality is that if every driver obeyed the laws, most fatalities could be avoided, say highway officials.

One concern is motorists who run red lights. To combat these drivers, some states, particularly Arizona, have installed cameras that can even capture the license plate number of red-light violators.

In Minnesota, installing such cameras is not allowed. It would take an act of the Minnesota Legislature to authorize such camera use.

Some people are opposed, because they say such cameras infringe on peopleís privacy.

The number one cause of traffic fatalities in Minnesota is illegal or unsafe speed, followed by distracted driving, which includes road rage and talking on cell phones, and impaired drivers.

Road rage, drivers who intend to damage property or hurt someone, is on the rise in Minnesota.

In the country, 66 percent of fatal accidents are caused by aggressive driving, which includes road rage.

Looking at the cause of all traffic accidents in Minnesota, distracted driving leads the list.

The best advice for a motorist challenged by an aggressive driver is to get out of their way, avoid eye contact with them and ignore the gestures. Donít challenge the aggressive driver; call 911 and report the license number.

A psychologist labels road rage a ìmental disorder.î He says, ìRoad ragers need to admit they have a problem, and frankly road ragers donít consider road rage to be a problem.î

There are other ways to prevent highway fatalities.

The obvious is to buckle the seat belt. Minnesota Department of Public Safety officials say just buckling seat belts would prevent 15 percent of traffic fatalities.

Of interest in examining vehicles involved in fatality accidents, a surprising number of them show the occupancy side intact. Auto makers say flatly ìall bets are offî if the seat belt isnít buckled.

The bottom line is most traffic fatalities could be prevented if drivers obeyed all the traffic laws.

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