Evaluating public safety statistics from 2015 has merit insofar as it helps us improve this year.
Traffic fatality numbers from last year were - in a word - dismal.
Missouri recorded 853 traffic fatalities in 2015, an 11.4 percent increase over the previous year, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol.
Past statistics show a steady decline in Missouri traffic deaths from 1,096 in 2006 to 786 in 2011.
That decline corresponds with a range of factors, including improvements in vehicle safety and roadway engineering, as well as public awareness programs focusing on drinking and driving, seat belt use, and distracted driving.
But anomalies exist.
Fatalities in 2012 climbed to 826, then fell into the mid-700s in both 2013 and 2014 before spiking again last year.
One explanation is higher traffic volume. Ed Hassinger, Missouri Department of Transportation chief engineer, observed: "With lower gas prices in 2015, we are seeing an increase in the amount of overall travel on Missouri's roads."
And, although the patrol continues to identify the leading causes of fatal crashes as speeding, inattention and impaired driver, statistics show new trends emerged last year. They include a 100 percent increase in expressway intersection fatalities and an 82 percent rise in overturning vehicles, compared to 2014 numbers.
The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, a partnership of public safety advocates, has established a goal of 700 or fewer fatalities by 2016.
What we must remember is each number included in the toll represents a loss of human life.
We will continue to call attention to coalition efforts, public safety initiatives and fatality statistics, but improvements will only come when motorists commit to sensible, sober and attentive driving.
That's a resolution we all can live with in 2016.