Highway deaths declined by about 100 in the U-S last year, but Iowa didn’t help that trend. Scott Falb tracks accidents for the Iowa Department of Transportation.He says Iowa hit a five-year low of 449 fatalities in 1998, but that was up to 488 in 1999. Falb cites three factors in the increase in Iowa traffic deaths: there were several multiple fatalities, crashes involving trucks, and an increase in the number of fatalities in construction zones. The U-S Department of Transportation says alcohol-related fatalities were also down in 1999 nationwide. Falb says unfortunately, Iowa also went against the trend there too with the first increase in many years.He says 1999 is a disappointing change from what has been a promising trend in lowering traffic fatalities.Iowa hit an all-time high of 912 traffic fatalities in 1970, but Falb says that number dropped to below 500 all through the 1980’s and 90’s. Overall just over 41-thousand people died on American highways in 1999.
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