Speeding remains top cause of road deaths

A car passes Martin Luther King Jr. park adjacent to Swope Parkway Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, in Kansas City, Mo. The stretch of road, along with parts of two other streets, would be renamed to honor King under a city proposal coming in the wake of failed effort to honor King last year. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
A car passes Martin Luther King Jr. park adjacent to Swope Parkway Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, in Kansas City, Mo. The stretch of road, along with parts of two other streets, would be renamed to honor King under a city proposal coming in the wake of failed effort to honor King last year. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A rise in speeding and other reckless driving behaviors continues to be a disturbing trend in 2021.

During the first half of the year, more than 450 people died in crashes on Missouri roads. The primary causes were excessive speed, distraction, impairment and not wearing a seat belt or motorcycle helmet, according to a Missouri Department of Transportation news release.

For MoDOT's Central District, based in Jefferson City, 54 fatalities were reported as of July 4, down from 62 at the same time in 2020. Of those 54 deaths, 46 occurred in rural areas and eight in urban areas.

The majority of those killed were between the ages of 21-64. Thirty of those killed were not wearing a seat belt, down two from last year.

So far during 2021, Missouri Highway Patrol troopers have issued more than 16,000 citations to drivers traveling 20 mph or more over the posted speed limit, a 9 percent increase from the same period in 2020.

After the August 2020 repeal of the all-rider helmet law, motorcyclist fatalities have increased 33 percent, and the number of unhelmeted riders killed in crashes increased from two in the first six months of 2020 to 31 so far in 2021.

MoDOT's Central District reported three motorcycle fatalities where the drivers were not wearing a helmet.

"The increase in motorcycle fatalities is very concerning, but so are the overall trends," said Jon Nelson, Missouri Department of Transportation's assistant state highway and traffic engineer.

"We see the same behaviors coming into play over and over again, and the reality is these crashes don't have to happen."