An oil truck drives past the ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery on Scenic Highway on June 18, 2020. (Photo by Jarvis DeBerry | Louisiana Illuminator)
The number of people killed on Louisiana roads in 2024 reached its lowest level in five years, with fatality numbers dropping faster than the rest of the country, the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission announced Tuesday.
Motor vehicle crashes in Louisiana caused 753 deaths last year, a 7.2% reduction from 2023 and a bigger decline than the national rate of 3.8%, according to data from the Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation Safety.
Helmut Schneider, the center’s executive director, shared the new statistics in a presentation at Louisiana State University.
Lisa Freeman, executive director of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, said the lower fatality rate “shows we are moving in the right direction, but we still have work to do.”
“We will not be satisfied until our rate reaches zero,” she said.
The statistics showed 88% of vehicle occupants use a seatbelt in Louisiana and a 18.3% decrease in DWI-related deaths.
While DWI deaths went down, DWI arrests increased 4.3%, to 13,675 people in 2024. The spike is “likely due to an increase in enforcement” rather than an increase in the number of drunk drivers, Schneider said.
The statistics also show an all-time low for people killed in motorcycle crashes in Louisiana, with 69 deaths. It represents a 28.9% decrease from 2023.
However, the numbers also showed an increase in bicycle-related and pedestrian deaths, with 44 cyclists killed compared with 35 in 2023 and 161 pedestrians killed compared to 147 in 2023.
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