\The results of the I-80 Challenge have been released, and over an eight-day period through the eleven states that Interstate-80 runs through, two fatalities occurred.
The goal from July 24 – 31, 2013 was to have zero fatalities along the roadway. Police along I-80 invested nearly 23,000 hours to the safety challenge, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
Officers issued over 14,000 traffic citations and nearly 9,500 warnings to passenger vehicle drivers. About 1,700 citations and almost 3,000 warnings were administered to commercial vehicle drivers, according to the statistics. Police said 162 impaired drivers were taken off the road. More than $2.5 million worth of illegal drugs were confiscated and 92 drug charges were filed.
I-80 spans 2,900-miles from California to New Jersey, and over the eight-day challenge the two deaths that occurred were in Nebraska and Ohio, police said.
“Sadly, two live were lost during the Challenge but the overall success of the project is clear,” said Patrick Hoye, Bureau Chief of the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau and I-80 Challenge coordinator. “We need to continue to make traffic safety a priority in the U.S.”
Hoye said it is necessary to find innovative ways to reduce crashes on the road.