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Deadly San Diego County crashes increased in 2018, bucking the national trend

Posted at 1:46 PM, Oct 22, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-22 16:50:48-04

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- Deadly crashes rose in San Diego in 2018, according to a new report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

According to the report, there were 240 deadly crashes in San Diego County in 2018.

In 2017, 223 deadly crashes were reported countywide, the agency said.

According to the data, January and July were the deadliest months in 2018, each with 28 fatal crashes.

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The month with the least fatalities was May in 2018. The report didn’t specify why exactly certain months had more deadly crashes than others.

The U.S. as a whole, however, saw fewer deadly crashes, showing a 2.4 percent decline from 37,473 in 2017 to 36,560.

The agency says 2018 marked the second year in a row of reduced crash fatalities.

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“This is encouraging news, but still far too many perished or were injured, and nearly all crashes are preventable, so much more work remains to be done to make America’s roads safer for everyone,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao said.

Also promising: the data show that deadly crashes among children 14 and younger declined more than 10 percent while alcohol-impaired driving fatalities decreased 3.6 percent.