Highway Deaths On The Decline

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Officials say highway deaths in Alabama
have significantly dropped this year thanks to stricter law
enforcement and higher fuel costs that reduced traffic.
The number of fatalities dropped 18 percent this year with 600
deaths on Alabama highways as of Friday. There were 735 deaths on
the same date in 2007.
Federal transportation officials say highway deaths across the
nation declined by 10 percent through October, from 34,502 in
October 2007 to 31,110 this year. Through October, Americans have
driven about 100 billion fewer miles than last year.
The decrease came shortly after gasoline costs started rocketing
skyward last spring. Alabama motorists drove 8.8 percent fewer
miles when gas prices spiked in August, at more than $4 a gallon.