County traffic fatalities do show decrease

By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
The number of people killed in highway accidents in North Central Alabama in 2009, including Morgan County, dropped for the third year in a row, according to statistics compiled by the State Trooper Post in Decatur.
Wrecks in Morgan, Lawrence, Limestone and Cullman counties resulted in the deaths of 48 people, down from 59 in the prior year. Of that number, nine occurred in Morgan County. For the state as a whole, traffic fatalities dropped from 613 in 2008 to 520 in 2009, a difference of 103, according to Col. J. Christopher Murphy, director of the Department of Public Safety.
After trooper-investigated highway fatalities rose to 800 in 2006, state agencies directed their focus on areas where fatal crashes were common. Safety blitzes and increased patrols like “Take Back Our Highways” and “Click It or Ticket: “ put more troopers and other law enforcement officers on roadways, targeting drivers for breaking traffic laws. Over the next three years, traffic deaths dropped 35 percent and 300 lives were saved.
The “Take Back Our Highways” campaign during the last week in July 2009 put every state trooper on patrol, Murphy said. The effort targeted bad driving behaviors that officials believe contribute to the majority of fatal wrecks.
These include driving under the influence (DUI), speeding, not wearing a seat belt, following too closely and failure to yield the right-of-way,