Published on Monday, June 4, 2007
in the Lakeland Ledger

A bit of good news

As more and more drivers take to the roads, and pass through Polk County, to get to tourist-friendly Orlando and Miami, there seems to be more accidents and inevitably more traffic fatalities. But Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Trooper Larry Coggins shared some good news with me today. Traffic deaths are down so far this year. Around this time last year, 69 people were killed in crashes in Polk County, compared to 51 killed so far this year. There's no "rhyme or reason" for the drop in traffic fatalitie, Coggins said. But there have been fewer multi-fatality accidents, Coggins said.