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AAA Mid-Atlantic Praises Drop in Traffic Deaths

AAA issues its "Best and Worst" list.

In its “Best and Worst” in transportation list for 2011, AAA Mid-Atlantic praised a 10 percent drop in traffic fatalities in Maryland.

AAA noted that nationwide traffic fatalities are at their lowest level since 1949, according to data released earlier this month by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

That includes a 10 percent decline in Maryland, from 549 deaths to 493 in 2010, the latest year for such figures.

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The key factors in the improvement, according to AAA, include a reduction in deaths in crashes involving drunk drivers and a decline in fatalities of drivers of passenger cars and light trucks, including SUVs, minivans and pickups.

The record-breaking decline occurred even as American motorists traveled nearly 46 billion more miles during the year, AAA said in a news release.

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While the organization cheered the “traffic safety milestones” in the state such as the passage of a law banning texting while driving, it criticized the state’s relatively high gas prices and called for more funding for transportation.

Below are some additional highlights from the advocacy organization’s 2011 list of state traffic highs and lows:

: This year saw the passage of several vehicle-related safety laws, including the banning of texting while driving. In addition, state legislators closed a loophole in the vehicular manslaughter law.

: According to the AAA, the highway was proposed in the 1960s as part of the Washington Outer Beltway. It is Maryland’s first all-electronic toll facility.  

Gas prices soar: Although the price of gas in Maryland was on average 2 cents lower than the national average, motorists in the state are still spending more on gas this year than ever before. According to AAA, the price of gas in 2011 averaged $3.52 nationally for the year and $3.50 for the year in Maryland.  On average, motorists will spend a half trillion dollars – approximately $481 billion on gasoline during 2011. That shatters the all-time record of $448 billion, set in 2008.  

Speed cameras: AAA questioned the efficacy of state speed cameras "in certain locations" but said work zone speed cameras appeared to have decreased the number of speeders in highway construction zones across the state.

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