Traffic deaths for drivers and passengers in Washington in 2023 exceeded the 32-year high recorded the year before and broke the record for pedestrian fatalities, according to the agency that tracks those numbers.
“In the last three years, each year we’ve experienced the highest number of pedestrian fatalities on record, not just in the last three decades, but for as long as we’ve been keeping stats,” said Shelly Baldwin, Director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
According to the WTSC: a total of 810 people were killed on Washington roads in 2023. That’s up from 743 deaths in 2022 and 674 traffic fatalities recorded in 2021.
The 2023 data showed drug and alcohol impairment was a factor in 400 incidents, half of all fatal collisions last year.
A bill that lawmakers debated a bill earlier this year that would have lowered the legal blood alcohol limit from 0.08% to 0.05%.
The WTSC supported efforts to lower the blood alcohol threshold for DUIs as well as an effort to expand photo enforcement on Washington streets. The DUI bill stalled, but the speed camera bill took effect June sixth.
“If you’re going 20 miles an hour and the worst thing happens and you hit a pedestrian, that pedestrian has about a 90% chance of surviving that crash. If you’re going 35 or 40 miles an hour, it’s maybe 1 in 10,” said Baldwin.
House Bill 2384 authorizes local governments to use photo enforcement on state routes that run through city limits and in work zones, with some stipulations. Cities and counties are now allowed to use traffic cameras to penalize drivers for speeding, intersection or crosswalk violations, improper use of bus-only lanes, and cutting in line at ferry queues. The bill capped the maximum traffic camera fine at $290 for violations in school zones and $145 everywhere else.
Seattle’s “don’t block the box” pilot project is now permanent. In addition to photo enforcement at crosswalks and intersections, the state’s largest city gained the authority to mount cameras on buses to catch transit lane violations.
To hear the reaction from drivers and the rest of the interview watch here.