2012 Sees Coffee County With Fewer Traffic Deaths Than 2011

Last year Coffee County recorded fewer traffic deaths than the previous year. But that was not the case in neighboring Franklin County. The number of traffic fatalities in Franklin county set high marks in 2012 that will trigger increased state and local enforcement there and across the region. Franklin County, where fatalities jumped in one year from two to 12, Sheriff Tim Fuller says he believes impaired drivers remain at the heart of the problem. The sheriff said that eight or nine of the fatalities were alcohol related. A total of 1,018 people died on Tennessee roads in 2012, compared with 937 in 2011, records show. State figures show statewide traffic deaths increased in 47 of the state’s 95 counties, stayed even in 12 counties and decreased in 36 counties. In 2012 Coffee County recorded 12 fatalities as compared to 16 in 2011.