DES MOINES, Iowa -- Traffic fatalities on Iowa highways so far in 2022 are outpacing last year's numbers.
"Seventy-six people have died in Iowa as a result of traffic-related crashes--that's actually up 22 percent, nearly 23 percent, from this time last year," says Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla.
He says those numbers were as of Thursday, April 21st.
Dinkla says many of those fatalities have the same thing in common--excessive speed, often in excess of 100 or 110 miles-per-hour.
"It used to be a rarity to see somebody traveling in triple-digits on our roadways. Unfortunately, now it's almost become the norm--two, to three, to four different times a day law enforcement officers are interacting with people on our roadways traveling at those egregious speeds," Dinkla says.
He says the State Patrol is also seeing another disturbing trend--many of those killed in crashes on Iowa highways or interstates weren't wearing seat belts.
"With today's age and vehicles, people should be very accustomed to wearing those seat belts. But for some reason, we still have 45 percent of people who were killed not buckling that seat belt," Dinkla says.
He says the Iowa State Patrol is working with local law enforcement to increase enforcement on those stretches of highways and intestates determined to be most dangerous.