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Fifty-four people died in Portland traffic crashes last year, the most since 1996.
Speeding and impairment drove an increase in traffic fatalities in 2020, according to the Portland Bureau of Transportation.
Fifty-four people died in crashes Portland last year, the most since 1996, when 59 people were killed. The jump is similar to increases in other metropolitan areas across the county, PBOT said in a Wednesday, Jan. 6, press release.
The increases seem unlikely because traffic counts fell last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But PBOT said an analysis of the local crashes reveals that a high percentage of drivers were engaging in risky behaviors. According to PBOT, drivers crashed into fixed objects, including parked cars and utility poles, at high rates 11 last year, compared to about eight most years. Speeding and impairment are believed to contribute to those kinds of crashes.