Medford, Ore. — Numbers show more people have died this year in traffic accidents than last. That’s consistent with a national trend.
According to Oregon Department of Transportation Spokesman, Gary Leaming, there were 200 fatal traffic accidents between January and August 16, 2014. So far this year, we’ve seen 264. The number of pedestrians killed this year has nearly doubled.
“They’re more than numbers they’re real people and real lives so it’s tragic and appalling that we have the number,” Leaming said.
Leaming said with a better economy, more people are on the roads. Speed, drugs and alcohol, and drivers distracted by cell phones are a few things he thinks could be responsible for the spike.
“There’s all these things that go into driving a motor vehicle, which is like a big bullet going down the road,” he said.
To see the numbers drop Leaming said we need to get back to the basics, meaning turning off the cell phones and focusing on defensive driving.
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