LEGISLATURE 2023-24: Deadly wrecks can be prevented (REP. DAVE PAUL)

State Representative Dave Paul (D-Oak Harbor) sent this email to constituents from his legislative account on Wed., Jan. 31, 2024.

Dear neighbors, 

There are two big proposals this session to improve traffic safety. Both are controversial, and I’d like your feedback. 

Our state is working to reduce—and ultimately—eliminate fatal car accidents. That should be getting easier, given the improvements in safety features on cars over the last few decades.  

Instead, we’re losing ground.  

In 2022, 745 people died in traffic wrecks. Over 800 people died on Washington roads in 2023.  

That’s unacceptable—and each of those deaths hurt families across our state.

The Fatal Four

Wrecks aren’t increasing because of bad weather or mechanical failure.   

Here are the Fatal Four risk factors from 2013 to 2022 according to the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission:   

• Impaired driver (49 percent of fatalities)   
• Speeding driver (32 percent)   
• Distracted driver (23 percent)
• Unrestrained occupant (21 percent)   

I doubt this comes as a surprise. We’ve all seen these behaviors on our roads daily.

What should we do?

Again, there are two big proposals this session to address the deadliest of the Fatal Four.  

The first gets tougher on impaired driving, which led to 389 fatalities on our roads in 2022. Sen. John Lovick introduced legislation dropping the blood-alcohol limit from .08 to .05, which Utah and other nations have done. In those places, the change cut fatal crashes caused by alcohol by 11 percent.   

Proponents of the bill also note that the change did not harm restaurants and the hospitality industry.  

This proposal is a big change, but I understand Sen. Lovick’s passion for this issue. As a state trooper for more than 30 years, he responded to an endless string of deadly wrecks.   

The second proposal would boost the use of traffic cameras to battle reckless driving on highways and speeding through work zones.   

Between 2019 and 2022, our state witnessed a 66 percent jump in fatalities involving a speeding driver, with 252 deaths in 2022 alone.  

It’s especially tough for troopers to pull people over in construction zones, where a four-lane highway might get restricted to one or two lanes. Police also note an increase in drivers racing 30 or more miles above the speed limit on highways.  

Safety advocates believe that cameras are a possible tool that fits this job. They can cover places troopers can’t and would target highways with the worst reckless driving. 

The bill also requires signs to warn drivers that traffic cameras are in use. 

Reducing traffic fatalities is a problem that we should unite to solve. It’s important for me to hear what you think about both ideas—that’s critical as I work to represent our community and find common ground.  

Please reply to this email and let me know what you think about the bills—and if you have other ideas on how to prevent these tragedies. 

Community forums 

I’d appreciate hearing from you about the issues that matter most to you and your family. Please save the date for two mid-session community forums.  

• Sat., March 17, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Coupeville Library, 788 NW Alexander St, Coupeville, WA 98239 
• Sun. March 18, 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Stanwood Library, 9701 271st St NW, Stanwood, WA 98292 

We’ll also have additional town halls across the district after session is over. 

As always, it’s an honor to serve as your representative. 

Dave Paul

[Ed. Note: While the email we received from Rep. Paul indicated the town hall meetings were to be held in March, subsequent emails have corrected this to February. The correct dates are Feb. 17 and 18.]