DES MOINES (AP) — The number of fatalities from traffic accidents has dropped to 280 in Iowa as the state heads into the holiday season.
Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Scott Bright told Des Moines television station KCCI that the total was 42 under the 322 fatalities Iowa had suffered by this date in 2012.
Bright cited several reasons for the drop. They include increased enforcement and driver education and improvements in vehicle safety features and design.
Bright also said new safety features on Iowa’s interstates are helping keep people alive. Among them are cable barriers that keep vehicles from crossing into oncoming traffic.