Traffic Fatalities Decline in 2013 in NJ, Pa. From Previous Year
By Mark Abrams
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- Fewer people died on New Jersey roads last year, and in Pennsylvania the early data tells pretty much the same story.
New Jersey State Police say that traffic deaths were lower in 2013, especially in South Jersey counties, than they were in 2012.
In Pennsylvania, the first six months of data from 2013 show fatalities falling compared to the same period of 2012.
While the numbers in both states appear to be heading in the right direction, Jenny Robinson of AAA Midatlantic says there's still work to do when it comes to preventing drunk-driving accidents.
"We still had, in Pennsylvania, more than 500 people killed in impaired-driving crashes in 2012," she notes. "I don't know if those numbers have gone down specifically for 2013, but even if they're anywhere in that neighborhood, it's still almost a third of the state's traffic fatalities."
She says distracted driving education and texting-while-driving laws also may have contributed to fewer traffic deaths.
