Fatal car accidents are down in Webster County but officials are urging the use of seat belts to save more lives.
Of the 15 people killed across the seven-county area the Iowa State Patrol District 7 covers, five of them were killed in Webster County. There were 13 fatal accidents in Webster County in 2007.
Webster County avoided having any accidents at all until October, said Iowa State Patrol Lt. Kelly Hindman, who commands District 7.
The first accident involved a child who was killed when she was accidentally runover by a pickup truck.
Hindman said although this was not a typical car collision, it is still considered a fatal accident.
An accident near Barnum killed Shyler Thoma, 18, a Manson Northwest Webster High School student, as he was making his way to school on Oct. 27.
"There are some crashes that are just not survivable," Hindman said. "A seat belt is designed for front or rear collision."
He said in accidents like the one in Barnum, where there was a side-impact collision and the full force of the crash is on the driver's side where a person is sitting, there are very few people who can survive the event.
However, in the case of the accident in Burnside on Oct. 29, the use of a seat belt could have saved the life of Chase Dodson, 14, of Dayton.
In the fatal accident, only two people where wearing seat belts, the other four passengers were not and were thrown from the vehicle.
A seat belt might have also saved the life of Jessica Nickless, 25, of Fort Dodge, who was ejected from a vehicle after an accident on the Kenyon Road Bridge in Fort Dodge on Nov. 15.
"It's still a problem," said Hindman. "Statistics show that seat belts save lives. Wearing a seat belt is your best bet."
He said 93 percent of the population wear seat belts regularly. The remaining 7 percent of people are likely young drivers who have not established the habit of wearing a seat belt or are people who aren't convinced by the data.
"Some people think they will get trapped or seat belts don't work," Hindman said. "And that's just not true."
The final accident reported in Webster County in 2008 was in Badger. Cheryl Reed, 54, of Badger, died in a car collision due to the inclement weather on Dec. 20.
Sgt. Jim O'Brien, chief deputy for the Webster County Sheriff's Department, said weather can be a big factor in accidents.
"Watch the weather," he said. "Don't travel when travel isn't advised."
He said the sheriff's department have deputies driving in the same weather everyone else is driving in and when they say it is unsafe for travel people shouldn't take the suggestion lightly.
Hindman said there are usually more crashes in Webster County because the volume of traffic is greater. There are also more people drinking and driving because many people come to Fort Dodge for entertainment.
The significant drop in accidents in 2008 could be caused by a number of reasons, he said.
"Cars are safer now then they were a few years ago," he said. "Gas prices were up so the miles traveled were down, meaning less people were on the roads."
He said he is pleased that the number of fatalities were down and hopes to start the next year off right.
"The goal every year is to have no fatal accidents," Hindman said. "Because zero is the only acceptable number."
Contact Katie Williams at (515) 573-2141 or katie@messengernews.net
