Labor Day worst holiday for fatal crashes
Statistically there are nearly twice as many fatalities in vehicle crashes Labor Day weekend than any other holiday period, according to the Montana Highway Patrol’s 2010 annual report.
From 2006 through 2010, 27 people died in vehicle crashes on Montana roads during the Labor Day holiday weekend, compared to 16 for Memorial Day, 15 for Fourth of July and 15 for Christmas.
A total of 189 people died in 161 crashes in Montana last year, averaging one every 46 hours. The good news is that across the state, fatalities were down 14 percent and injuries are down 12 percent. This was the third year in a row that fatalities dropped, and the highway patrol attributed the change to a 42 percent drop in fatal accidents where alcohol was a factor.
“This represents 40 lives saved in the past year,” said Col. Michael Tooley, the Highway Patrol’s chief administrator. “I am cautiously optimistic that Montana has begun to address its long-running issue of drinking and driving.”
Flathead County ranked sixth in the state for all crashes with 1,475 out of 20,518 across Montana. The county tied for fifth with Sanders County for fatal crashes with eight out of 161 for the entire state.
The number of deaths on Flathead County roads has continually dropped from a high of 30 in 2006 to 26 in 2007, 25 in 2008, 16 in 2009 and eight in 2010. Tallying highway patrol records over the past 75 years, Flathead County ranks fourth for fatalities.
Over the course of the year, most fatal crashes occur on dry pavement, in clear weather, during daylight hours. Most fatal crashes occur between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays in the month of July, and male drivers far exceed female drivers in fatal crashes for each of nine different age groups.
The top-five contributing circumstances for fatal crashes in Montana are operating a vehicle in an erratic way, running off the roadway, under the influence of alcohol, overcorrecting or over-steering, and under the influence of drugs.
According to the highway patrol, alcohol was present in about 4 percent of drivers in all crashes, but present in about 28 percent of drivers in fatal crashes. Drugs were present in less than 1 percent of drivers in all crashes, but present in 17 percent of drivers in fatal crashes.
Twenty-five people died and 330 people were injured in 420 motorcycle crashes. Alcohol was present in 6 percent of the drivers of motorcycles in all crashes and 8 percent of fatal crashes.