COLUMBIA, MO. -- The number of Missouri highway fatalities has dropped to its lowest level in more than 60 years.
The new statistics allowed members of the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety to hold a celebration at Mizzou Arena.
436 people rushed onto the Mizzou Arena Basketball Court and represented the lives saved on our Missouri highways. There were 821 fatalities on Missouri roadways last year. That means members of the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety met their goal of 850 or fewer fatalities by the end of 2012, 2 years early.
MoDOT Director Kevin Keith said, “Wear your seatbelt. Don’t drink and drive. Pay attention. Slow down and I think we can cut this number in half.”
Former Moberly High School student and now Mizzou cheerleader Kelsey Sisco said she wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for an educational video promoting seatbelt use she saw while in she was in high school.
Sisco, “I was involved in a serious car accident. I was just fiddling with my radio and came off the road. I barrel rolled through a field. It was the scariest experience of my life. That seatbelt kept me safe. I really do owe my life to MoDOT, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and everyone involved in the Buckle Up Arrive Alive program.”
821 people died last year on our state roads. That’s the lowest mark since 1949.
Safety officials say a combination of law enforcement, educational efforts, emergency medical services, engineering enhancements and public policy is the reason why more Missourians are wearing their seatbelts and arriving alive.
Missouri has had a reduction in roadway fatalities for the past 5 years in a row.
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