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Crashes, Fatalities In SD Highways Down Over The Year

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The number of crash and fatalities recorded this year in South Dakota highways has significantly declined compared to the same period in 2014.

The Argus Leader ( ) reports the state in 2015 has seen 32 highway crashes and 34 fatalities, down from 50 crashes and 57 fatalities during the same time last year.

Highway Safety Director Lee Axdahl says the trend authorities have identified is lack of seatbelt use and “improper alcohol use.”

Axdahl says authorities “preach and preach” about seatbelt use, but they still “see fatality after fatality.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2012 reported South Dakota had the lowest percentage of seatbelt use in the nation. The agency reported that 67 percent of South Dakotans use a seatbelt, while the national average is 86 percent.

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Information from: Argus Leader,