So far this year there have been at least 100 traffic deaths in the state of Maine, including more than 20 in the month of August alone. Five people lost their lives in Maine traffic crashes last year over the Labor Day weekend, and state highway safety officials are asking drivers in the state to be extra cautious this year.
“We’re taking a look at all these fatalities and trying to determine if there’s one single causation or a number of causations that we can look at and treat through education to try to change the behaviors,” says Lauren Stewart, highway safety director for the state of Maine.
She says last year, the state had recorded 88 traffic fatalities by Sept. 1.
“Last year we had 12 fatalities in August for the entire month of August, and this year up to 22. That’s a 57 percent increase for just the month of August,” Stewart says.
She says most of the fatalities Maine has seen in August have involved men in their early 40s speeding and veering off the road.
Stewart says 58 Maine law enforcement agencies, including the state police, have been participating in an impaired driver enforcement effort. She says the campaign started in mid-August and will continue through the Labor Day weekend.
