CHP Commissioner Says Crash Fatalities Dropped 2 percent -- Not 9

By Marianne Russ, California Capitol Network, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published July 18, 2007 at 12:20 PM PDT

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

It turns out more people died on the state's roadways last year than the California Highway Patrol first reported. In March, CHP Commissioner Mike Brown said there was an impressive 9 percent drop in

It turns out more people died on the state's roadways last year than the California Highway Patrol first reported. In March, CHP Commissioner Mike Brown said there was an impressive 9 percent drop in traffic fatalities statewide. However on Wednesday Brown said that's changed. The real drop is about two-and-a-half percent.

A frustrated Brown says local agencies and CHP field offices didn't report all of the fatalities in a timely fashion -- something he says they'll work to change:

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Brown : These are not just numbers. Every one of these represents a human being that's not with us anymore, and it's a tragedy that we cannot overlook. They deserve to be counted.

Brown says the CHP is already meeting with local agencies to try to work on speeding up the reporting process. The agency uses the statistics to identify areas where more traffic enforcement is needed.