State traffic deaths pass the 300-mark for the year

Traffic fatalities on Minnesota roads surpassed the 300-mark for the year over the weekend, a dark statistic considering that Tuesday marks the 289th day of the year.

The latest death occurred Sunday night when 16-year-old Carter Peterson, of Ada, Minn., was killed when his vehicle at t-boned as he attempted to cross Hwy. 9 at Main Avenue in Borup, Minn. He was one of 10 people who were killed in traffic crashes between Thursday and Sunday and brought the yearly total to 307, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

Last year, Minnesota recorded its 300th death on Oct. 12.

With an average of one person dying each day on Minnesota roads, the state could eclipse the 411 deaths reported last year. That was most in the past five years, state records show.

Besides Peterson, other recent deaths included best friends Nathan Brill, 24, and Nicholas Kroll, 25, who died in Morrison County Saturday when their truck rolled Saturday morning, 65-year-old motorcyclist Edward Lipscomb, of Lakeville, who was killed Sunday in a head-on crash in Kilkenny in Le Sueur County, and 31-year-old Joel Miller, a motorcyclist who went off the road in Nicollet County and hit a sign.

Preliminary number from the Department of Public Safety show that of the 307 deaths, 41 have been pedestrians, 52 were motorcyclists and 7 were bicyclists.

The rise in traffic fatalities here mirrors what is happening across the nation. An estimated 17,775 people have died in motor vehicle crashes in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase over the same January through June period of 2015, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

According to NHTSA, job growth and low fuel prices were two factors that led to increased driving, including increased leisure driving and driving by young people. More driving can contribute to higher fatality rates. In 2015, vehicle miles traveled (VMT) increased 3.5 percent over 2014, the largest increase in nearly 25 years.

This month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Federal Highway Administration, and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration joined with the National Safety Council to launch the Road to Zero coalition with the goal of ending fatalities on the nation's roads within the next 30 years. The U.S. Department of Transportation pledged a $1 million a year for the next three years to provide grants to organizations working on lifesaving programs.

"Every single death on our roadways is a tragedy," said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. "We can prevent them. Our drive toward zero deaths is more than just a worthy goal. It is the only acceptable goal."