Vehicle crashes down in Roseau County

In the summer of 1995, I worked a three month internship at The Warroad Pioneer, which I'm sorry to say has since ceased operation. This was the first professional newspaper that I worked for in my career, and it turned out to be a wonderful experience. I had only worked at Bemidji State University's newspaper for about a year and half before landing the internship. At The Pioneer I gained experience in sports, feature, beat and government reporting. I designed pages, took and developed photographs and was responsible for community relations. The best part is that I remain friends with the owners nearly 30 years later.

Aug. 1, 1995

By Devlyn Brooks

According to the 1994 Minnesota Motor Vehicle Crash Facts released by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Roseau County had one fatal vehicle crash in 1994.

This is down from the average of four fatal crashes during the years of 1989 to 1993.

The number of injuries due to vehicle accidents was down also. There were 81 injuries last year, and the average during the years of 1989 to 1993 was 95.

There were a total number of 206 crashes in the county, which is significantly down from the average of 233 during 1989 to 1993.

What happened in Roseau County contradicts, to a degree, what happened statewide last year. Although total crashes decreased by 1.2 percent (99,701 in 1994), the number of traffic deaths rose significantly from 538 in 1993 to 644 deaths in 1994. The Crash Facts report states, "There is no obvious explanation for this increase (in traffic deaths)."

One answer to the increase in traffic deaths might possibly be that seat belt use in fatal crashes decreased from 32 percent in 1993 to 25 percent in 1994.

The report states that impaired driving and speeding were cited less often as contributing factors to crashes last year than in 1993, but they are still among the leading factors in serious crashes.

"Last year, 226 people died in alcohol-related crashes, and 152 died in crashes where speed was a contributing factor," the report states.

There were other contradictory statistics involved with last year's statistics, also. The total number of people injured in crashes increased 3.1 percent. However, the percentage of severe injuries decreased from 9.2 percent of all injuries in 1993, to 8.8 percent of all injuries in 1994.

The report also indicates that a lot of crash victims were young. "Of the 644 people killed in 1994, 281 (44 percent) were aged 15 to 34," the report states. Of the 46,403 injuries, 51 percent were aged 15 to 34.

Not only were there more young people who died, young people also were reported to be "disproportionately represented among drivers in crashes." People aged 15 to 34 held 37 percent of the driver's licenses in Minnesota last year, yet they were 49 percent of the drivers in fatal crashes, and 52 percent of the drivers in all crashes.

Males also were "over-represented" in 1994's crashes. Sixty percent of the deaths were males, and comprised 74 percent of drivers in fatal crashes, and 58 percent of drivers in all accidents.

Most fatal crashes (61 percent) occurred in rural Minnesota, compared to 29 percent which occurred in the seven-county metro area. The report reads: "Briefly stated, less serious crashes are mostly urban events, while fatal crashes are mostly rural events."

Slightly more crashes occurred on Fridays than any other day during the week, and most crashes happened during the afternoon rush hour period. This has changed from a decade ago when most crashes occurred during the 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. time frame. Still, however, 28 fatal crashes occurred in Minnesota between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. during 1994.

The counties surrounding Roseau had similar statistics in 1994. Kittson County had zero fatal crashes in 1994. Down from the county's average of one per year during 1989 to 1993. The number of crashes in Kittson County slightly decreased to 79 from the average of 82.

Lake of the Woods County had more traffic deaths than its average. There were two fatal crashes, which is up from the one-per-year average. That county had 70 crashes last year, two fewer than its average.

Marshall County reported four fatal crashes, up from its average of three per year. The number of crashes in Marshall County did decrease though, 123 in 1994, and the county's average is 143.

It is estimated that the total economic loss to Minnesotans was $1,656,634,200 in 1994.