Crashes drop on highway

SANDPOINT — Crashes on state and federal highways in Bonner County declined for the third year in a row in 2011.

There were 487 crashes in the county in 2011, according to the Idaho Transportation Department’s Office of Highway Safety annual report. There were 577 in 2010 and 593 in 2009.

The death toll from traffic collisions in Bonner County in 2011 was seven, the same as in 2010. Six were killed in 2009.

So far this year, five people have been killed in highway crashes in Bonner County.

The number of impaired-driving crashes in the county dropped from 55 in 2010 to 47 in 2011, but the number of deaths from those crashes increased from four to six during that time frame, the annual report said.

Bonner County had the most impaired-driving crashes in 2011 for counties with populations with between 20,000 and 49,999 people. Bonner claimed the ignoble title from Nez Perce County, which led in 2010.

Observed seat belt usage in Bonner County continues to drop. It was as high as 89.8 percent in 2007, but slid to 66.9 percent in 2011.

Distracted driving was a factor in 24 percent of crashes in Idaho in 2011. Those crashes claimed 41 lives.

Statewide, crashes involving motorcyclists were down in 2011, but crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists were up.

There were 216 pedestrian fatalities in Idaho in 2011, a nearly 11-percent increase over the previous year. The death toll from such crashes was 10, the same as in 2010.

There were 346 crashes involving cyclists in the state in 2011, but none were fatal, the report states. There were 345 cycling-related collisions in 2010.

The number of motorcycle crashes in Idaho and fatalities among riders were both down in 2011. There were 489 crashes and 17 deaths, down 7.4 percent and 39.3 percent, respectively, from the previous year. Crashes involving motorcyclists have steadily fallen since 2007.

Crashes on U.S. Highway 2 climbed from 65 in 2010 to 73 in 2011. The death toll jumped from zero to four during that time span.

Collisions on U.S. Highway 95 dipped from 1,118 in 2010 to 1,045 in 2011. Sixteen lives were lost in 2011, up one death from the previous year.

No fatal crashes were reported on Highway 57 and the number of crashes fell sharply from 31 in 2010 to 13 in 2011. Highway 200 crashes ascended from 49 in 2010 to 61 in 2011.

Average daily traffic was up on all highways in Bonner County except Highway 200.