Traffic deaths last year lowest in state's history

INDIANAPOLIS -- The official total for traffic deaths in Indiana last year was the fewest in the state's history.\nFigures from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute released Tuesday showed 779 motor vehicle fatalities in 2002, compared with 909 in 2001. The official figure for 2002 was 22 more than a preliminary count by state police in early January.\nThe previous low since record keeping began around World War II was the 888 deaths in 2000, according to state police.\nDespite growth in the number of drivers and miles driven, traffic deaths historically have declined in Indiana and nationwide over recent decades.\nTraffic safety advocates say there is cause to expect a continuing decline in Indiana as seat belt use grows, traffic-law enforcement expands, and drunken driving laws become tougher.\n"There is a direct line between seat belt usage and motor vehicle fatalities," said Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, who is also chairman of the Governor's Council on Impaired and Dangerous Driving. "Although Indiana reached a record-low number of traffic fatalities last year, we still have more work to do to convince the public to always wear their seat belts and to never drive impaired."\nA statewide survey in November showed seat belt use at 75 percent, said Jerry McCory, who oversees state traffic safety programs. Indiana's figure for all of 2001 was 67 percent, with a 62 percent rate in 2000.\nSeat belt law enforcement increased recently through the state's "Click it or Ticket" program, with grant money helping pay for police officers to work overtime to search for people not buckling up.