The Iowa State Patrol monitors several different statistics throughout each year, and one of the most watched is traffic fatalities.

Trooper Shelby McCreedy says that there are always many accidents every year, and that in severe cases deaths may be involved. She adds that weather, negligence and distraction can all be contributors to the number of accidents and fatalities, but that they don’t always correlate.

From an interview on February 8th, McCreedy tells Raccoon Valley Radio where the number of fatalities sits for this year so far.

“What I do know is that our fatality count is astronomical compared to this time last year. In 2022, on this date we had 18 fatalities. Where this year, right now we’re sitting at 29. So we’re 11 deaths above where we were a year ago.”

Trooper McCreedy adds that there are several programs and initiatives in place to try and limit the number of traffic accidents and deaths, but that even with them in place, it won’t bring those numbers to zero.