Vermont Records Fewer Highway Deaths

Vermont is on track to post a decrease in traffic deaths in 2007.

As of mid-December, 66 people had died on Vermont highways, compared with 87 in 2006 and 73 in 2005, according to the Governor’s Highway Safety Program.

“It’s probably one of the lowest years on record,” said Lt. John Flannigan of the Vermont State Police.

Steve Reckers, acting coordinator of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program, says stepped-up policing played a role in reducing highway fatalities. Early in the year, troopers reported a speeding problem, but increased patrols helped bring down speeds — and with them, traffic deaths, he said.

Among drivers aged 15 to 20, there have been six deaths, which is a four-year low.

Among drivers 71 or older, 17 died in 2007, a four-year high.

The higher number of deaths among older people could be due to slower reaction time, declining vision and inability to survive crash injuries as well as younger people, he said.

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Information from: Rutland Herald, http://www.rutlandherald.com/