The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities revealed Tuesday that traffic accidents in the 49th state are running well above 2015 levels.
In statistics released by email Tuesday, the department said Alaska has had 75 traffic deaths in 69 fatal crashes through Monday. Through the same date in 2015, the state had 56 fatalities in 53 fatal crashes.
In August, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that traffic deaths reversed a multidecade decline in 2015, with a 7.2 percent increase between 2014 and 2015.
The state on Tuesday said preliminary data from NHTSA this year shows a 10.4 percent increase in nationwide traffic deaths during the first half of 2016 as well, continuing the trend.
Before 2015, traffic deaths hadn’t increased year-over-year since 1966. Improvements in vehicle technology — such as airbags and better design — were coupled with rising seatbelt use to drive the decline.
The NHTSA hasn’t concluded what has caused the trend to reverse, but data from the Alaska Highway Safety Office shows driver mistakes have caused about 75 percent of fatal accidents here in recent years. Those mistakes include speeding, drunken or high driving, distracted driving (while texting, for example) and failing to use seatbelts.
