Report: Alcohol-Related Traffic Deaths On The Rise

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday shows that alcohol-related traffic deaths are on the rise in Minnesota.

The report says fatal crashes were up 19 percent in 2010 from the year before.

In 2009, there were 421 fatalities in crashes and 107 of them, or about 25 percent, were alcohol-related. Last year, there were 411 crash deaths and 127 of them were alcohol-related, or about 31 percent, according to the report.

The report said more than 32,0000 people died last year in accidents, and more than 10,000 of the deaths were alcohol-related crash. The figure amounts to 31 percent of all fatal crashes involving alcohol. That number is also actually slightly down from 2009, where were 10,759 fatalities in alcohol-related crashes, or about 32 percent of all fatalities.

The state with the biggest year-to-year increase was Kansas, which had 37 percent more alcohol-related fatal accidents in 2010 compared to 2009.