The number of Iowans killed in traffic wreck is staying surprisingly consistent. The final numbers aren’t in yet from the Iowa Department of Transportation, but the early tally shows around 445 people were killed on the state’s roads last year. That’s the exact same number that died statewide in wrecks in the year 2000. D-O-T safety specialist Scott Falb says the final toll may go up, but not much.He believes when all the figures are in the final total will be 448. Falb says that figure shows a good trend. During the 1990s the state average 470 traffic deaths, so this shows a trend downward in the last two years. He says wider and better roadways are part of the reason for the decrease. He also says the graduated drivers license has led to fewer accidents among younger drivers.In 1999 and 2000, the accidents among young people decreased 10-percent with the start of the graduated drivers license system. About a quarter of the deaths were alcohol-related. In all, there were 64-thousand reported crashes last year in which 36-thousand people were hurt. That averages out to almost 100 people hurt in car accidents every day, with wrecks happening about every 20 minutes.