By Craig Anderson

DOVER — Prepared for a presentation on the Delaware Department of Transportation’s current operations, goals, finances and staffing needs, Secretary Nicole Majeski opened with something else.

Roadway fatalities in the First State spiked in 2021, and the deadly pace continued early this year.

So when Ms. Majeski addressed state senators and representatives during a Joint Finance Committee hearing last week, there was no reason to start anywhere else.

She displayed a chart detailing the loss of human life “because this is an emphasis for us, this is something we’re working on every single day, trying to figure out how do we make the roads safer, what can we do?”

By the numbers, 139 fatalities occurred in 2021, the most in 15 years and a 19% increase from 2020. There were 29 pedestrians among them, 24 motorcyclists and two bicyclists, along with those in motor vehicle crashes.

The numbers haven’t been that high since 2006, when there were 147 fatalities on Delaware roadways.

A deadly start to 2022 began with seven more people fatally injured in less than three weeks, including three children.

According to the Office of Highway Safety, 22 people have died this year, compared to 10 at the same point in 2021.

“This is avoidable and unacceptable,” OHS Director Kim Chesser said.
“Every lost life is a tragedy, and many fatalities can be prevented by everyone taking responsibility behind the wheel and driving safely. Slow down, give your undivided attention to driving, and buckle up.

“Far too many families are suffering the trauma of being impacted by dangerous and deadly driving behaviors.”

Since Jan. 1 in Kent and Sussex counties, Felton has seen three fatal incidents (including the state’s only pedestrian death), two in Seaford, and one each in Laurel, Lincoln, Millsboro, Milford and Milton.

Nine of the victims were age 19 or younger, Ms. Chesser said.

The latest tragedies came Thursday and Friday:

• In Milford, two 17-year-old males died when the vehicle they were traveling in left Coastal Highway, went between two bridge spans and vaulted into Cedar Creek. The vehicle landed on its roof and became almost completely submerged.

In Bear, a 31-year-old mother and her 7-year-old son died after their vehicle was struck by another while crossing Pulaski Highway (Route 40). The mother’s 9-year-old daughter was transported to ChristianaCare in critical condition.

In Newark Friday night, a 30-year-old Maryland bicyclist was killed on Salem Church Road.

Regarding potential accident clusters, Delaware State Police spokesman Master Cpl. Gary Fournier said, “There are no roadways that have seen a higher occurrence of fatalities than another.”

Spokesman C.R. McLeod said DelDOT doesn’t track the number of occurrences at individual roadways and intersections.

The fatal crashes this year have happened on rural roads and multi-lane highways. As Mr. McLeod put it, “We see fatalities occur on every type of road.”

Following that JFC meeting, Secretary Majeski described the spate of fatals as “heartbreaking and frustrating.”

Delaware OHS spokesman Jason Coleman said fatal crashes have been rising nationally as well and, “Analysis shows that the main behaviors that drove this increase include impaired driving, speeding and failure to wear a seat belt.”

As state entities DelDOT, Delaware State Police and the OHS continue to coordinate efforts to lessen the danger for motorists and pedestrians, Secretary Majeski is asking for residents to pitch in as well.

“Everyone needs to do their part,” she said. “Everyone needs to slow down, they need to put their phones down, they need to be driving attentively.

“It’s really just slowing down, that’s the number one takeaway (from everything that’s happened).”

With every ongoing and new safety initiative comes hope for Delaware to move toward an ultimate goal of zero deaths, as stated in the state’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan for 2021 to 2025.

Improving intersection safety is a top priority, as they were a factor in nearly 40% of all fatalities and serious injuries in DelDOT’s latest available data from December 2020 (data for 2021 was still being compiled).

DelDOT is continuing to expand roundabouts throughout Delaware as alternatives to intersections, Mr. McLeod said. Currently there are 23 throughout the state, he said, and 17 more are in the design process.

According to national studies, there is a 90% reduction in fatal crashes at roundabout intersections, along with a 75% drop in injury crashes, 30-40% fewer pedestrian crashes and a 10% reduction in bicycle crashes.

Frequent factors in crashes with fatal and serious injuries also included distracted driving (19.1%), impaired driving (18.7%) and roadway departure (18.4%). Pedestrians and motorcycles were involved in 12.5% of those crashes.

To lessen the danger of roadway departure crashes, DelDOT uses a high-friction surface treatment, among other methods. The agency won a National Roadway Safety Award for its efforts in 2017.

Additionally, Mr. McLeod said, “Two-lane roads with limited or no shoulders have higher rates of roadway departure crashes.”

Mr. McLeod pointed to Sussex County, where 37% of all fatalities from 2015-19 occurred on roadway departure crashes.

Overall, DelDOT Chief of Traffic Engineering Peter Haag said, “What we preach is (the question of safety) is always being looked at from the four E’s perspective.

“Engineering. What can we do to improve infrastructure, devices, things of that nature?

“Education. How do we utilize ways to promote safe driving, partnering with our core partner the OHS?

“Enforcement: Partnering with law enforcement when devices are on the roadway or negative behavior is occurring. How do we assist in managing that?

“Emergency services: Knowing from the severity of these crashes, what areas can we influence and help them to provide that service.”

While Mr. Haag said, “We don’t have any rankings aspect of roadways if you’re looking to the deadliest or dangerous or number of fatalities. A lot of our programs are acquired through federal government partnerships.

“They look at a variety of factors. They take into account traffic volumes, the number of crashes and the severity of them, intersections, and that’s just a few of them.

“It’s from those evaluations and processes that we determine how to address some of those concerns.”

Infused with federal funds, OHS has coordinated numerous programs to increase driver safety.

With a bevy of state and municipal police agencies, DUI patrols were conducted around Halloween, the Super Bowl, St. Patrick’s Day, April, June and the Fourth of July, among others.

Regarding occupant safety, OHS operated child seat safety restraint stations, along with speed, pedestrian, motorcycle and distracted driving enforcement.

Ms. Chesser maintains that, “Seat belts save lives, they are your best defense. Your chance of survival doubles by properly wearing a seat belt.

“We have made enormous progress in increasing seat belt use, but far too many people are still dying because they are not buckled up during crashes. Before you even start, you and everyone in your vehicle should be buckled up — every trip, every time.

“Ensuring children are in the appropriate restraint for their age and size greatly improves their chance of surviving a crash and avoiding serious injury.”

Ms. Chesser said that four out of five child safety seats in Delaware are not installed correctly. For more information on how to make a free appointment at a fitting station, Ms. Chesser said to contact OHS.

The office’s main phone number is 302-744-2740 and information is also available online.

New Castle County fitting station coordinator Shawn Rohe can be reached via email at Shawn.Rohe@delaware.gov, or by calling 302-434-3234 (office) or 302-256-1123 (mobile).

Kent and Sussex fitting station coordinator Aubrey Kick can be reached via email at Aubrey.Klick@delaware.gov, or by calling 302-387-2324 (office) or 302-744-2749 (mobile).

Pandemic a factor?

Delaware OHS Deputy Director Richard Klepner sees the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason for increased roadway danger.

“In Delaware and across the country, unfortunately, we’re seeing a very large increase since the pandemic began,” he said.

“For one thing, there’s less traffic on the road, less congestion. I think, anecdotally, we’re seeing speeds increased quite a bit, especially on roadways ... We’ve been seeing a significant increase in speed-related crashes.

“I think anybody driving up and down Route 1 ... has noticed a pretty large increase ... in how fast people are going. And speeding isn’t necessarily the primary cause of a crash, but it’s very indicative of the severity of injury. So the faster we’re going, obviously, the higher the risk of injury.”

Also, Mr. Klepner said, “You know, you’re not sitting in traffic, forced to go under the speed limit (as much). There’s a lot of concern about people driving too slow in the left lane. But from a safety perspective, that’s not always the worst thing in the world. There’s a lot less of that as well.”

Roadside memorials

While DelDOT acknowledged that roadside memorials for victims of fatal crashes exist, they are discouraged.

Mr. McLeod pointed to the Delaware Highway Memorial Garden at the Chauncey O. Simpson Rest Area in Smyrna as an alternative. That’s where friends and family members of a person who died in a highway crash can get a brick engraved with the victim’s name and the years they lived.

Bricks are available free of charge and can be ordered online. 

There’s a spot for 10 Delaware State Police troopers who have died, including the oldest date in the garden — Trooper Francis Ryan, who died in 1922.

Dedicated on Oct. 15, 2007, “The garden was the first of its type nationwide to include the names of victims of all types of traffic fatalities,” Mr. McLeod said.

“It was created in response to the many requests the department receives regarding the legality of placing roadside memorials.”

Around 880 “In memory of” bricks have been placed in the ground, and serve as a reminder that the victims were well-loved before becoming a fatal crash statistic. Also, there’s a tribute that reads, “In memory of all souls lost, rest in peace.”

Some of the messages, in all capital letters, read:

• “Forever loved”
• “A loving mother”
• “For my dad”
• “Loved and missed”
• “Remember daddy”
•  “In God’s hands”
• “Our princess”
• “Forever young in our hearts”
• “Shining star”
• “Gone too soon.”