Jacksonville car accidents are well below last year’s total in what authorities attribute in part to the soured economy.
Previously high gas prices and consumers’ continued concerns about spending on everything from vacations to eating out have caused people to drive less, leading to a reduction in accidents, police and travel experts said.
Through Monday, there have been 135 fatalities in Duval County this year compared with 166 for all of 2007, according to the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Duval’s traffic deaths are the lowest since 2004, when there were 131 traffic deaths. Fatal accidents also are down in Clay County - 15 compared with 27. They are about the same in Nassau and St. Johns counties.