Memorials

Of all traffic fatalities from 1982- 2004, 46% were alcohol related. During this same time, national traffic fatalites average 41,000 per year. In 2003, an estimated 17,013 people died in alcohol-related traffic crashes-an average of one every 31 minutes. These deaths constitute 40 percent of the 42,643 total traffic fatalities.

In 2001, about 1,461 fatalities occurred in crashes involving alcohol-impaired or intoxicated drivers who had at least one previous DWI conviction -- about 8.4 percent of all alcohol-related traffic fatalities.

Excess speed is the number one killer of highway workers!

Nationally, 6,800 lives have been lost in the past 10 years in road work zone crashes. In California in 1996, there were 6,085 accidents identified by the California Highway Patrol as occurring in highway construction or work zones, or 3.7 percent of the total number of crashes statewide.

The reckless behavior of motorists also creates a hazard for California's highway workers. From 1994 to 1996, there were 156 Caltrans vehicles struck in work-zone operations, resulting in five deaths, $586,000 in damage, 641 days of lost time and 481 days of modified work.

There have been 149 Caltrans employees who have been killed in the line of duty, with many of those deaths coming as a result of errant vehicles entering highway work zones.