In the 15 years from 1991 through 2005, an average of 1,073 people died in crashes on Alabama’s highways. The death toll peaked in 2006 at 1,207. Then Alabama officials changed the way they approach the problem.
Highway deaths in 2007 fell by 8 percent to 1,110. The 2008 fatality data is incomplete, but the Alabama Department of Public Safety (DPS) shows a 17 percent drop from 2007 on its daily reports through Nov. 26.
The coordinated efforts of Alabama officials to reduce highway deaths are a textbook example of how to serve taxpayers by working together on common goals and managing resources productively.
The governor has been actively involved in bringing agencies and resources together. Each morning, he receives a DPS report comparing same-day highway injuries and deaths for the last five years. The Legislature has funded more state troopers to ease a chronic DPS staffing shortage. At DPS, work schedules have been changed to put more troopers on the highways. Patrols have been increased in areas where the worst wrecks happen, such as the interstate highways in Jefferson, Cullman and Chilton counties. Enforcement priority goes to the leading causes of crashes, including speeding, following too closely, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI) and driver inattention.
The DPS operates a well-publicized Take Back Our Highways campaign with traffic “blitzes” during holidays and other significant times of the year. Local law enforcement partners participate, as have the state highway patrols in Tennessee and Mississippi. The goal is to improve driving behavior and save lives, not simply to write tickets.
The Alabama Department of Transportation provides mapping technology to identify problem areas from accident data, funds some DPS equipment needs and has added barriers on interstate medians and extra width on two-lane roads to prevent accidents. To improve statewide DUI enforcement, the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences trains state and local officers to conduct sobriety tests, maintains the equipment and provides lab work. The DPS has obtained mobile “breathalyzer” units with the help of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.
As the governor has noted, the beneficiaries of these efforts include some who otherwise would not be alive today.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Jim Williams is executive director for the nonprofit, nonpartisan Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama.
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