Fewer alcohol-related driving deaths in Alberta in 2014
CBC News | Posted: October 24, 2015 6:54 PM | Last Updated: October 24, 2015
Overall traffic fatalities declined by 19 per cent since Traffic Safety Plan introduced in 2007
Fewer Albertans died in crashes involving alcohol in 2014 than previous years, province statistics show.
The 2014 statistics are the latest available for the province and show the traffic fatality rate continues to decrease, with a large drop in alcohol-related fatal accidents.
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Compared to 2013 there were 15 per cent fewer alcohol-related fatalities in 2014, a news release said Saturday.
Overall, the province has seen traffic fatalities decline by 19 per cent since 2007 when the first Traffic Safety Plan was introduced; from 458 deaths in 2007 to 369 in 2014.
During that period, serious injuries dropped by 12 per cent and minor injuries dropped by 25 per cent.
Those statistics are all the more noteworthy when the population growth is taken into account.
For example, from 2013 to 2014, the number of drivers registered in Alberta climbed by 89,247 while the number of vehicles on Alberta roads jumped by 131,064, driving up traffic volumes on provincial highways by 4.53 per cent.
Nonetheless, Transportation Minister Brian Mason was guarded in a written statement.
"While there are certainly some bright spots in this report, the number of fatalities and injuries on Alberta roads show that we still have work to do to ensure everyone is safe on our roads."
Other traffic statistics to note:
- While fatal collisions declined by 0.9 per cent in 2014 from 2013, the number of traffic fatalities increased by 3.1 per cent
- Injury collisions were up 1.2 per cent in 2014 from the previous year
- The total number of collisions increased 2.2 per cent compared to 2013
- Of all collisions during 2014, 5.7 per cent involved unsafe speed
- However, one in four fatal collisions involved unsafe speed