PennDOT: Traffic fatalities statewide decline in 2024 as crash deaths climb in Erie County
Traffic fatalities in Pennsylvania dropped statewide in 2024 over the previous year, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
But Erie County's fatal traffic crashes climbed, according to data from PennDOT and the Erie County Coroner's Office.
According to data released by PennDOT on May 1, 1,127 people died in crashes on Pennsylvania roadways in 2024, a decrease of 82 from the previous year. Notable drops were seen in areas including motorcycle fatalities, down 19 from 2023; pedestrian fatalities, down eight from the previous year; and fatalities in alcohol-related crashes, which dropped from 307 in 2023 to 244 in 2024, according to information in PennDOT's Pennsylvania Crash Information Tool.
Areas where traffic fatalities increased statewide, PennDOT reported, include intersection crashes, which increased by 20 over 2023; and crashes at intersections with a stop sign, which increased by 13.
Deadly day in Erie: 2 killed in car-motorcycle crash hours after fatal accident, shooting
PennDOT's data listed 36 traffic fatalities in Erie County in 2024, up from 30 in 2023. It was the highest number of traffic fatalities in the county, as charted by PennDOT, since 39 traffic fatalities were recorded in 2010.
Motorcycle and pedestrian fatalities remained the same in 2024 as they were recorded in 2023, according to the agency's data sheets. The most notable increase in PennDOT's data for Erie County was in fatalities at intersection crashes, which climbed from six in 2023 to 17 last year.
The Erie County Coroner's Office investigated 23 motor vehicle deaths in 2024, up from 18 the previous year; 13 motorcycle deaths, up from 12 in 2023; and six pedestrian deaths, down from eight in 2023, according to Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook and data his office previously released.
The Erie Bureau of Police is about to employ new tools to help combat speeding, a common factor cited by city police accident investigators in fatal crashes.
Police Chief Dan Spizarny said the bureau recently purchased three portable speed signs through federal grant funding, and the police will post those signs in certain areas to track the flow of traffic and speed of motorists.
The signs, which utilize radar, will flash to motorists the speed they are traveling as they approach and pass the signs. But they will also capture data on the number of vehicles traveling through the area and the speeds those vehicles are traveling, to help in determining which areas police may target for enforcement, Spizarny said.
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"We can't write a ticket based on the radar because we are not allowed to, but it gives us information and lets us know what we are seeing on blocks as far as traffic and speeds," he said.
The signs are expected to be put on display at an upcoming news conference in which Erie police and PennDOT will announce an aggressive driving campaign, according to Spizarny.
Various other traffic enforcement efforts conducted by Erie police will continue, officials said, including enforcement of school zones and addressing speeding complaints in neighborhoods. Erie police are also continuing specialized patrols along East 38th Street, an enforcement effort launched in 2024 in the wake of two serious traffic accidents along the roadway.
Pennsylvania State Police troopers will again assist Erie police in the East 38th Street targeted enforcement effort, said Lt. Gary Garman, patrol section supervisor for state police Troop E in Lawrence Park Township.
More: Erie police charge city men with street racing on East 38th that led to serious May crash
Garman said troopers will also do a number of other traffic enforcement details in the Erie region, as they regularly do each year. They include a Click it or Ticket campaign over Memorial Day and at least 13 DUI checkpoints the troop does each year, he said.
Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNhahn.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Despite drop in traffic deaths statewide, Erie County's 2024 deaths up
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