Oklahoma Traffic Deaths Hit 18-Year Low In 2010

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, Oklahoma – The number of people killed on Oklahoma roads in 2010 was down compared to 2009, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Monday.

OHP said preliminary data showed there were 625 traffic fatalities on state roadways in 2010.

"Not only a decrease of 112 from 2009 (737), but an eighteen year low since 1992 when we saw 619," said Captain Chris West, spokesman for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and Department of Public Safety.

Officials don't know the exact reason for the decrease, but said seatbelts could be a contributing factor.

"We're confident the state's 86 percent seatbelt compliance rate is a big reason for the reduction, but there's no absolute science to pinpoint it," West said.

The state saw the highest number of traffic deaths in 1997 when 846 people were killed on Oklahoma roads.