The number of annual traffic fatalities in Washington state has jumped from 528 in 2019 to 810 in 2023, a 51% increase since 2019, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
The reasons given for the increase vary, ranging from fallout among law enforcement staffing via the defund the police movement in 2020 to increased substance abuse amongst drivers.
Both the WTSC and the Washington State Patrol last year made public statements about the rise in traffic fatalities that made 2023 the deadliest since 1990. At the time of the statements in August 2023, there were 417 traffic fatalities, little more than half of the annual total…