Highways Deaths Declined in Florida in 2008

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Highway deaths are at an 8-year low in Florida.

Also for the first time since 2000, fewer than 3,000 people lost their lives on the state’s roadways, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported.

There were 2,983 highway deaths in 2008, a decrease of 238 from the previous year, the agency reported, noting that fewer vehicles were on the road in large part due to the slumping economy.

Alcohol-related deaths decreased by 6 percent although drinking and driving were factors in 40 percent of Florida’s traffic fatalities last year.

Although teenage drivers had the highest rate of crash involvement, fatalities of the youthful drivers and their passengers decreased by 22.5 percent.