Traffic fatalities in Missouri rose in 2022 for the third year in a row, with preliminary data showing 1,028 people died on Missouri roads.
It's the highest number of deaths since 2006.
Since roughly six out of ten fatal crashes involve a person not wearing a seatbelt, Jon Nelson - assistant to the State Highway Safety and Traffic Engineer at the Missouri Department of Transportation - said hundreds of lives a year could be saved if everyone buckled up.
Nelson said the difference seat belts and car seats make is directly related to the way cars are designed to crumple in case of a crash - calling it the "room to live phenomenon."
"It tends to keep that passenger compartment intact," said Nelson "So, if we can make sure that we stay in that passenger compartment through the means of a seatbelt - or, for a child, through the means of a carseat - then that greatly increases our odds not only to survive, but also to escape serious injury."
Nelson said speeding, and distracted and impaired driving are responsible for a significant number of traffic fatalities.
He cited speed and other aggressive driving maneuvers as factors in roughly half of all fatal crashes, and stresses that speeding includes not only exceeding the speed limit, but driving too fast for road conditions.
He added that driving impaired, no matter what the cause, contributes to between 20% and 25% of fatalities.
Regarding distracted driving, Nelson cautioned that although hands-free technology may be safer than manipulating a cell phone, the person is still being mentally distracted.
He wondered if hands-free phones may actually be increasing the incidence of distracted driving.
"It might give us a false sense of security that we can now engage more with our phone because we're doing so in a hands-free manner," said Nelson "So, it's kind of increasing the exposure rate, the use rate of those phones, simply because people think it's safer because they have that hands-free opportunity In their vehicle."
Nelson said the Missouri DOT believes it, and all Missourians, have their parts to play in keeping Missouri roads safer in 2023.
The Missouri Public News Service is a partner with KRCU Public Radio.
