HARRISBURG, Pa. - Statewide traffic deaths rose over the last year, according to recently released data from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).
But the Lehigh Valley saw a decrease.
Numbers show Lehigh County saw two fewer traffic deaths than the year before.
But it was a much larger drop in Northampton County, falling to 13 from 21 deaths.
PennDOT officials said they can’t pinpoint all the reasons for the decrease but noted they have made recent safety improvements to several roads.
Ronald Young Jr., who is a safety press officer for PennDOT said, there may be many factors for the drop in fatalities but the agency has been working to improve local road safety.
“It’s such a big, multi-faceted way to look at safety and these things and there’s no real one answer,” he said, “But it’s something we are always looking for on all of our roadways.”
“PennDOT has a program, low cost safety improvements, so, we go out and look at roadways, and of course, you always look at the 22s and 78s, they are the major roads. They get so much traffic, they get so much attention,” Young said, “But in parts of the Lehigh Valley and our region, there are rural areas, too.”
Some cost effective projects have been adding rumble strips and high-friction road treatments, he said, all intended to help improve driver awareness and control.
And along Route 222 in Lehigh and Berks counties, PennDOT is installing roundabout intersections, he said, to help slow traffic and prevent future crashes.
