The Iowa Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) Iowa Traffic Fatality Reduction Task Force is calling for a special press conference on Tuesday, June 8. Safety officials are citing a recent spike in fatal accidents this year and say, “We’re on a trend to potentially exceed previous totals on the heels of a year when COVID-19 wrote a new chapter of dangerous driving behaviors in Iowa.” The task force will be sharing the alarming data as well as the problems and solutions to reverse the deadly trend. They say the power is in the hands of Iowans to bring the number of accident fatalities to under 300 for the first time since 1925. At the end of May, the Iowa State Patrol reported on one of these startling statistics from January that in 100 percent of the fatal accidents in the state, the victim was not wearing a seatbelt. Tuesday’s press conference will include statements from: the Iowa Traffic Fatality Task Force Chair and Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB) Chief, Patrick Hoye; Iowa State Patrol Colonel, Nathan Fulk; Iowa DOT Director, Scott Marler; and a father of a crash victim fatality, Greg Franck. Carroll Broadcasting will bring you more details following the event.
