Traffic Arrests, Fatalities Preventable says NDHP - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

     With increased economic activity comes increased traffic.  And, typically, more traffic means more traffic incidents.

     In 2012, the North Dakota Department of Transportation issued over 300,000 commercial motor vehicle permits.  That's an increase of 77% since 2010.  More vehicles -- commercial and personal -- increase the workload of North Dakota Highway Patrol.  In fact, troopers worked nearly 17,000 hours of overtime last year.  The Highway Patrol emphasizes improved safety boils down to drivers making good decisions.

     "Alcohol-related crashes and also failing to wear your seatbelt.  Those are two things right off the bat that are preventable -- that people can actually make the decision to prevent those fatal crashes," says Sergeant Tom Iverson, North Dakota Highway Patrol. 

     But last year, the Highway Patrol made 1,910 DUI arrests.
     There were 816 drug-related arrests.
     Seat belt violations accounted for 8,830 citations.
     And in 146 fatal crashes, there were 169 fatalities.
     The number of both fatal crashes and fatalities was higher last year than in 2011, and higher in 2011 than in 2010.  

     For their part, troopers gave 624 safety presentations around the state last year.  But they continue to emphasize drivers must make safe, responsible decisions on North Dakota's increasingly busy roadways.