The number of deadly crashes in Washington is up. Way up.
State agency heads hope the figures will prompt new laws aimed at making roads safer.
According to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, between 2014 and 2015 the number of fatal crashes in Washington jumped 23 percent.
“We’re going up in fatalities which is very distressing to me,” said Gov. Jay Inslee, D-Washington.
Inslee said the numbers should make the state “up our game” when it comes to marijuana education, the training of young drivers and efforts to curb distracted driving.
When broken down into demographics, victims involving distracted driver crashes saw the biggest increase, 30.8 percent.
Safety Commission Director Darrin Grondel said there would be another effort to update the state’s hands-free law regarding cell-phone use while driving.
Drivers cannot currently hold phones up to their heads or text while driving.
Grondel said the law does not prohibit being on Facebook, emailing someone or checking stock quotes. New rules could also be coming for the state’s youngest and newest drivers.