2012 Joplin Wrecks Hit Historic Low, Says JPD Chief
By: Gretchen Bolander
Updated: January 7, 2013
JOPLIN, MO-- Joplin roads end 2012 with an historic low ... fewer wrecks than the city has seen for decades.
1, 888 accidents were logged last year. That's well below the Joplin Police goal of ending the year with less than 2,000. Joplin Police Chief Lane Roberts says his research shows yearly totals haven't been that low since at least the 1980s. Officers credit driver education, road safety improvements and high visibility enforcement efforts in the drop... and say they'll continue to focus on driver safety in 2013.
Joplin Police Sgt. Rusty Rives said, "1800 is a good number. It's down from 2,000 like we were targeting. But our goal is to get that number even lower. So we're going to continue those efforts to keep those numbers down and even reduce it even farther."
The Automobile Association of American estimates each accident involving an injury carries an economic impact of $126,000 to residents. So officers point out that reducing wrecks benefits not just those involved, but the whole community.
