Driving-Related Fatalities in Rhode Island Decreased 20% in 2014

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Rhode Island’s attorney general says the number of driving-related fatalities in Rhode Island decreased 20 percent in 2014, to the lowest number in a decade.

Attorney General Peter Kilmartin says there were 65 driving-related fatalities in 2013 and 52 in 2014. He says the number has dropped from a high of 104 fatalities in 2003, and hasn’t been this low since 1994.

Kilmartin highlighted the decrease in fatalities involving younger drivers, from 22 in 2009 to eight last year. Kilmartin visits schools to ask students to pledge to never text and drive.

Kilmartin says educational programs, the ban on texting and driving and increased enforcement of seatbelt rules and other driving laws are affecting driver habits.

He says most Rhode Islanders report wearing a seatbelt every time they’re in a car.