Vehicle crashes dip slightly in Bonner County

SANDPOINT — The number of fatality and injury crashes in Bonner County declined slightly in 2007, according to an annual report compiled by the Idaho Transportation Department’s Office of Highway Operations & Safety.

Here are some of the report’s highlights:

There were five fatal crashes tallied in Bonner County last year, compared to seven in 2006 and 10 in 2005. There were 203 injury crashes in 2007, down from 233 in 2006 and 266 in 2005.

The total number of crashes in Bonner County fell sharply in 2007, when 663 were recorded. There were 743 total crashes in 2006 and 804 in 2005. In Idaho counties with populations between 20,000 and 49,999, Bonner County had the third-highest total crash rate. Nez Perce County topped the list with 791, followed by Bingham County, which had 760.

The total number of impaired driving crashes in Bonner County slipped slightly in 2007. In 2007, 54 impaired driving crashes were counted, compared to 59 in 2006.

Total crashes are also declining inside the city of Sandpoint. In 2005, there were 230 crashes. Those totals fell to 188 in 2006 and 181 in 2007. Of Idaho cities with populations between 5,000 and 14,999, Sandpoint ranked fifth in total number of crashes. Blackfoot, Burley and Garden City took the top three spots in the 17-city list.

Impaired driving crashes in Sandpoint, however, doubled. Just seven such crashes were noted in 2006, compared to 15 in 2007.

Statewide, there were 26,452 crashes in 2007, an increase of 9.2 percent. But the Office of Highway Safety notes that a decrease in 2006 was largely due to a legislative change in the threshold for reporting property damage.

The total number of fatalities in Idaho fell by 6 percent in 2007. In 2006, 267 deadly crashes were counted, compared to 252 in 2007.

The number of impaired driving crashes resulting in death or serious injury also declined statewide. In 2006, 110 deaths and 316 serious injuries were attributed to impaired driving. Those totals dipped to 101 and 309, respectively, in 2007.

The number of crashes involving bicycles in Idaho saw a 2.1 percent decrease in 2007. There were 328 total crashes in 2006 and 321 in 2007. But the number of pedestrians involved in vehicle crashes climbed by nearly 9 percent. Statewide, there were 224 pedestrian-related collisions in 2006, compared to 244 in 2007.

Crashes involving cyclists and pedestrians were not broken down according to counties or cities.

The total number of crashes on U.S. Highway 95 climbed from 1,161 in 2006 to 1,270 in 2007. The number of fatalities on U.S. 95 increased from 12 to 15 between 2006 and 2007. On U.S. 2, the total number of crashes fell from 94 in 2006 to 69 in 2007. One fatality a year has been tallied on U.S. 2 highway since 2005.

The total number of crashes on state highways 200, 41 and 57 decreased in 2007. On Highway 200, there were 56 crashes in 2006 and 46 in 2007. Highway 41’s number of crashes went from 179 in 2006 to 146 in 2007. Crash totals for Highway 57 fell from 33 in 2006 to 14 in 2007.