News
Alcohol-related crashes up
Jeff Schmucker
Published: December 7, 2012
More of Hernando County's drivers not only crashed their vehicles in 2011 than in recent years past, but an increasing number also did so while consuming alcohol.Published: December 7, 2012
According to statistics from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, crashes in Hernando County increased by 32.9 percent from 1,386 in 2010 to 1,842 last year — the highest number of crashes in five years.
From 2007 to 2010, the number of crashes had steadily decreased by 18.4 percent, from 1,698 to 1,386 crashes.
Alcohol-related crashes also increased for the first time in five years from 110 in 2010 to 169 — a 53.6 percent increase.
Prior to last year's number, the number of alcohol-related crashes had also been steadily decreasing each year from 196 in 2007 to 110 in 2010 — a decrease of 43.9 percent.
In comparison, statewide traffic crashes have decreased, dropping by 3.17 percent, from 235,461 in 2010 to 227,998 in 2011.
Alcohol-related crashes also decreased statewide by 3.8 percent, from 17,748 to 17,067.
Sgt. Steve Gaskins, public information officer for the Florida Highway Patrol, couldn't give any one reason as to why crashes would increase last year following prior years of steady decreases.
One aspect with the alcohol numbers, he said, could be better recording performed by local and state agencies along with law enforcement enforcing and charging drivers more diligently.
"I don't want to say there are now more drunks in Hernando and Pasco counties because that's not necessarily the case," Gaskins said. "There's no good, final answer I can give you because a lot of this is subjective."