On the one hand, there’s good news.
Pasco County has reduced both the number and rate of deaths and serious injuries resulting from crashes on its roadways, based on a recent report delivered to the board of the Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).
On the other hand, the county’s statistics are higher than the state averages, reported Johnny Koors, a transportation planner for the Pasco MPO.
And, despite the improvement, Pasco must do what it can to continue to make it safer to travel around the county, said Koors, a transportation planner for the MPO.
Each statistic represents a person, he said, and when the ripple effect is considered, “we’ve got 10s of thousands of people that are affected by these crashes every year. So, we know we’ve got more work to do.”
Still, there are some bright spots. Based on the five-year period ending in 2022, the Pasco MPO is one of four MPO planning areas in the state that has seen improvements in each of the categories measured in the report.
In terms of traffic fatalities, Pasco saw a decrease of 1.3% in the number of fatalities, based on a comparison of the current and previous five-year rolling averages.
The decrease in the fatality rate, based on 100 million vehicle miles traveled, was even greater, Koors said. He explained that’s because the number of fatalities went down, while the number of vehicle miles driven went up.
So, in the comparable years, the fatality rate decreased by 3.4%.
As far as the number of serious injuries, the county saw a decrease of about 8%, and again, because of the higher number of miles driven, the serious injury rate declined even more, reaching nearly 10%, Koors said.
While those figures are taking the county in the right direction, its results still exceed the state average.
To meet a federal requirement of setting targets, Koors said the MPO staff is recommending that Pasco submit a goal of a 10% reduction in fatalities and serious injuries, which he said is aggressive compared to some other counties.
The MPO board adopted the recommendation.
Last year, after staff gave the MPO board a presentation on the number of deaths and serious injuries related to traffic crashes, the board asked for a more detailed look at the issue.
That report was delivered by Tina Russo, an MPO staffer who spends much of her time working to improve safety.
She analyzed crash reports for 2022 and identified some of the key issues.
According to her report, the largest number of crashes in 2022 occurred at intersections. There were 4,486 wrecks at intersections resulting in 308 serious injuries and 33 deaths, according to information previously reported in The Laker/Lutz News.
Russo also noted that lane departures were another significant factor, with 3,246 crashes resulting from vehicles straying on the road. Those wrecks resulted in 236 serious injuries and 45 fatalities.
She also noted that two simple behaviors by motorists — wearing a seatbelt and wearing a helmet — would go a long way toward reducing traffic deaths.
TRAFFIC SAFETY FIGURES
NUMBER OF FATALITIES
Across Florida: 2017 to 2021: 3,306.4; 2018 to 2022: 3,387.2: Difference: 2.4%
Across Pasco: 2017 to 2021: 104.2; 2018 to 2022: 102.8; Difference: -1.3%
RATE OF FATALITIES (Per 100 million vehicle miles traveled)
Across Florida: 2017 to 2021: 1.52; 2018 to 2022: 1.54; Difference: 1.6%
Across Pasco: 2017 to 2021: 2.06; 2018 to 2022: 1.99; Difference: -3.4%
NUMBER Of SERIOUS INJURIES
Across Florida: 2017 to 2021: 18,029.8; 2018 to 2022: 17,146.2; Difference: -4.9%
Across Pasco: 2017 to 2021: 988.4; 2018 to 2022: 910.6; Difference: -7.9
RATE OF SERIOUS INJURIES (Per 100 million vehicle miles traveled)
Across Florida: 2017-2021: 8.35; 2018-2022: 7.79; Difference: -5.6%
Across Pasco: 2017-2021: 19.5; 2018 to 2022: 17.64; Difference: -9.7%
Source: Report to the Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization, February 2024
Published February 21, 2024
