DPS: 2011 Thanksgiving Travel Was Safest On MN Record
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minnesota Department of Public Safety said this Thanksgiving travel period may have been the safest on record in Minnesota.
Initial reports show that there was one traffic death during the holiday weekend -- which started at 6 p.m. on Wed. Nov. 23 and ran through 12 a.m. on Mon. Nov. 28. The person killed this year was a motorist in Norman County on Friday.
In 2010, there were four deaths on the roads during the Thanksgiving period.
The DPS Office of Traffic Safety began tracking numbers in 1974.
They said the deadliest Thanksgiving weekend was in 1994 when there were 18 deaths.
"Just a few years ago Minnesota would suffer double-digit fatalities during Thanksgiving," says Donna Berger, acting director of DPS Office of Traffic Safety. "Increased belt use, attentive driving and sober driving are helping to make sure people are getting home safely for the holidays."
Preliminary holiday travel period traffic deaths in 2011 include: zero deaths on Memorial Day the safest since at least 1975; five on 4th of July; and nine deaths on Labor Day weekend.
There have been 313 traffic deaths in Minnesota to date, compared to 369 at this time in 2010.
