Flathead leads state in highway fatalities

For third year in a row, the deadliest roads are right here

Flathead County led the state in traffic fatalities for the third consecutive year in 2008.

Twenty-five people were killed in 22 crashes on the county's highways, according to data released recently in the Montana Highway Patrol's annual report.

"I think there needs to be more of an awareness from the oldest driver to youngest just how dangerous it can be," said Montana Highway Patrol Capt. Clancy King, whose district covers Flathead, Lake, Lincoln and part of Sanders counties. "If we could raise that awareness, there'd be a lot fewer crashes."

But even though more fatal crashes occurred last year in Flathead County than any other county in Montana, the number of traffic deaths here decreased from 26 in 2007 and 30 in 2006. There were 17 traffic deaths in 2005 and 19 in 2004.

In the first four months of 2009, six people have been killed on the county's highways, including a 7-year-old girl, a Montana Highway Patrol trooper and a 35-year-old Columbia Falls woman and her 13-year-old son.

Conclusions about the state of highway safety in Flathead County can be better drawn from the total number of crashes in a year than from the number of fatal accidents, King said.

"If you look at the total number of crashes, it's really not a valid proportion to draw conclusions from, especially when some very unique circumstances can cause fatalities," he said.

Many of those circumstances are outside the scope of traffic enforcement efforts or even, sometimes, the drivers themselves.

For example, a motorist was killed near Libby when a deer - which had been hit by another vehicle - flew through the window and struck the driver.

"Fatalities like that are an anomaly," King said.

In recent years, the overall number of crashes in the Flathead Valley has dropped from about 1,400 in 2004 to about 1,200 in 2008. The number of DUIs, however, has risen from about 225 in 2004 to about 450 in 2008, according to King's data.

"I'm encouraged with our numbers, which are down as far as crash calls," King said.

Districtwide, the total number of crashes investigated by the patrol has remained at about 2,000 over the past three years, despite substantial growth in population and the number of vehicles on the road.

Troopers patrolling Flathead, Lake, Lincoln and Sanders counties in 2008 investigated 1,919 crashes and issued 35,422 tickets.

Lake County recorded four traffic deaths in 2008, compared with 10 in 2007; Lincoln County had three traffic deaths, half the number it had in 2006; and Sanders County had seven, one fewer than in 2007.

Following Flathead County with the largest number of fatalities in 2008 are Yellowstone County with 22, Missoula County with 20, Gallatin and Lewis and Clark counties with 13 each, and Big Horn County with 12.

Statewide, the number of traffic deaths dropped significantly - down to 229 in 2008 from 276 in 2007. There were 263 deaths on Montana's highways in 2006, 251 in 2005 and 229 in 2004.

In 2008, one person was killed in an accident every 42 hours, according to the patrol's report.

More fatal crashes occurred last year between 1 and 2 p.m. than any other time, on Sunday more than any other day of the week, and in June more than any other month.

Montana in 2008 averaged 60 crashes a day, injuring one person every 90 minutes.

Driving culture in rural Montana is partly to blame for the state's high volume of both fatal and nonfatal crashes.

"It's discouraging just to hear people joking around about driving too fast," King said. "Joking around about other dangerous things is taboo… You don't hear people joking about throwing hazardous materials all over the house or things like that."

Drivers under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or some combination of both accounted for about 7 percent of all crashes in 2008 but more than a quarter of fatal crashes.

"Those statistics right there show just how dangerous it is," said King, who noted that the percentage of fatal crashes involving alcohol have decreased significantly over the past 15 years, partly because of education and partly because of aggressive enforcement.

To combat driving deaths, the patrol runs a DUI task force and in January 2007 reincarnated the Aggressive Driver Apprehension Team. The roving patrol unit operates across the state in areas statistically identified as high-crash corridors.

In Flathead County, hiring practices, advances in automation, and scheduling changes are allowing troopers to spend more of their time patrolling the highways.

"We've changed our scheduling to make troopers more available to work the same area at the same time of day for several days in a row, so they get a better feel for what's going on in that area," King said.

In addition, the re-engineering of roads in trouble spots such as Montana 35 and Shady Lane, Rose Crossing, and U.S. 93 north of Kalispell has led to a decrease in crashes.

King said one of the main reasons for the high fatality rate in Flathead County is the lack of a controlled-access highway, such as an Interstate highway.

"Every other large community has one," King said.

The patrol perennially asks the state Legislature to pass a primary seat-belt law. Under the current law, troopers are not permitted to stop a driver for a seat-belt violation alone, but can ticket a driver for not wearing a seat belt if the motorist is pulled over for an unrelated violation or is involved in a crash.

"We're dedicated to creating a culture in the patrol where crash prevention and impaired-driving prevention are priorities," said King, who acknowledged that there must be some level of voluntary compliance with traffic laws.

"We could quadruple the number of people in all [the county's law enforcement agencies], but you can't be out there all the time," King said.

In 2008, five of the state's 38 fatal crashes involving motorcycles occurred in Flathead County.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com