CAPE COUNTY IS ACCIDENT LEADER

Cape Girardeau County led the region in crashes in 1995 but also in seat-belt usage.

Cape Girardeau County ranked 11th in the state in speed-involved crashes and 14th in accidents involving drunk drivers. It ranked 10th in accidents involving drivers under 21 years of age and 11th in accidents involving drivers 55 years of age or older.

Cape County had 3,158 accidents in 1995, more than any other Southeast Missouri county. The next closest was St. Francois County with 1,608 crashes, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol.

But more than 80 percent of motorists involved in accidents in Cape Girardeau County were using their seat belts when the crashes occurred.

Butler County had the second-best usage figure in the region at nearly 75 percent.

The patrol annually compiles a report on all traffic accidents in the state. The most recent report deals with accidents that occurred in 1995.

Statewide, there were 185,915 traffic accidents in 1995. The accidents killed 1,109 people.

In 39 percent of the fatalities, motorists were exceeding speed limits or going too fast for conditions. Speed-related traffic crashes killed 423 people and injured more than 18,000.

Drunk drivers were a factor in nearly 26 percent of the accidents. Accidents involving drunk drivers killed 266 and injured more than 7,300 people.

A Highway Patrol spokesman said it isn't surprising that Cape Girardeau County ranks high in crash statistics.

The more populated an area, the more accidents that occur there, said Capt. Clarence Greeno, director of public information for the patrol in Jefferson City.

Cape County has a population of more than 61,000. The county was the state's 14th largest in population as of the 1990 Census.

Greeno also said college towns typically have a lot of traffic accidents. Cape Girardeau is home to Southeast Missouri State University.

Twelve people died in traffic accidents in Cape Girardeau County in 1995. Ten of the fatalities occurred in rural areas of the county. Only two occurred in the city of Cape Girardeau.

Greeno said most of the speed-related fatal crashes statewide occurred in rural areas. "The higher the speed, typically the worse the crash," he said.

Nearly 70 percent of the accidents in Cape Girardeau County occurred in the city of Cape Girardeau.

"The bottom line is, the more people you have driving around in cars in any place, you are going to have an increased number of accidents," said Sgt. J.R. Davis of the Cape Girardeau Police Department.

More than 300 people were injured in accidents in Cape Girardeau. Countywide, 553 people were injured in accidents.

The city of Cape Girardeau has a population of under 40,000. But Davis said the city more importantly is a regional center, attracting out-of-town shoppers, college students and medical patients.

That adds to the amount of traffic on city streets and the number of accidents, Davis said.

Davis is pleased with one statistic: the high rate of seat-belt usage.

He said the city in recent years has encouraged motorists to wear seat belts. A traffic safety grant has helped get that message across.

Greeno said seat-belt usage rates typically are higher in urban areas of the state where there is a lot of interstate driving.

Motorists often buckle up for highway driving but don't do so when they are driving on city streets.

"People tend to think at lower speeds they don't need seat belts," Greeno said.