Motor vehicle fatalities in North Dakota halfway through the year are running ahead of last year but below the pace of two years ago.
There have been 42 fatalities on roads in the state during the first six months of 2023, according to preliminary data from the state Department of Transportation. There were 38 fatalities during the same time period in 2022 and 47 over the six-month span in 2021.
Eighteen of this year’s fatalities involved people who were not wearing seat belts, according to DOT.
“Lack of seat belt use is consistently one of the largest contributing factors to fatalities on North Dakota roads, alongside lane departure,” said Karin Mongeon, director of DOT’s Highway Safety Division.
North Dakota on Aug. 1 moves from a secondary seat belt law to a primary law, due to Senate Bill 2362 passed by state lawmakers earlier this year and signed by Gov. Doug Burgum.
People are also reading…
Officers right now can cite someone for not wearing a seat belt only after another traffic infraction. Under the new law officers will be able to issue seat belt citations as a primary offense. The new law also will require all occupants of a vehicle to wear a seat belt, not just those in front seats.
Law officers in North Dakota through August will be cracking down on seat belt violations, along with speeding, drunken driving and distracted driving.
North Dakota has a Vision Zero strategy to eliminate motor vehicle crash fatalities and serious injuries on North Dakota roads. For more information, go to https://visionzero.nd.gov/.
Fargo crashes
Two separate but related crashes in the Fargo area involved multiple vehicles and backed up traffic on Interstate 29 for two hours on Monday evening.
The first crash happened on I-29 near the 52nd Avenue South exit and involved a semitrailer, pickup truck and SUV. It occurred during congested late-afternoon traffic, according to the Highway Patrol. All three vehicles ended up in the median. Authorities are still investigating the sequence of events.
One person was taken to a hospital with what the Patrol said were minor injuries.
Southbound traffic backed up on the interstate, and about an hour after the first crash a pickup pulling a camper and a semi hauling a flatbed trailer crashed about a mile away. No one was hurt. The Patrol is continuing to investigate.