Support road safety

As flu deaths increased in Arkansas and were forecast to exceed well over 200 total, Gov. Asa Hutchinson stated in late January that he wants to “make sure we’re doing everything we can as a state to prevent the spread of the flu.” With all due respect to those who have lost family members to the flu, I would like to request the governor also direct the Department of Transportation and the state police and its Highway Safety Office to make sure they also are doing everything they can to prevent the loss of lives on state, county and local roadways.

Well over 500 additional Arkansas family members are missing from family Christmas dinners every year due to roadway fatal crashes in Arkansas. These are not “accidents”; these are preventable fatal crashes! The highway safety professionals in the Department of Transportation and the Highway Safety Office are well aware of the most cost-effective safety measures which could be implemented in Arkansas based on the success in other states which have lowered rural fatality rates much more than Arkansas has in the past decade. (See Federal Highway Administration’s historic state by state highway fatality rate tabulations.) What is missing is the support of our elected and appointed state officials, particularly the governor.

Arkansas highway officials often state that “safety is our highest priority.” Unfortunately their actions, budgeting and programming do not support their claims as shown in their reluctance to implement very costeffective safety measures.

It is time for this governor to address this public health epidemic occurring on Arkansas roadways year after year, and prove safety is indeed “our highest priority.”

TOM WELCH

Fairfield Bay