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Kittitas County: Impaired Driving Fatal Crash Trends-10 Year, 5 Year, and Current Analysis <br />All data presented reflects impaired driving involved fatal crashes only, not general crash trends, <br />highlighting the direct impact of impairment on fatalities in Kittitas County. <br />10 Year Trends (2015-2024) <br />• Impaired driver -involved fatal crashes peaked at 9 in 2016 <br />• Declined to a low of 1 in 2019 <br />• Increased again to 6 in 2022 <br />• Stabilized at 2 fatalities in both 2023 and 2024 <br />Over the 10-year period, impaired driving remains a consistent contributor to fatal crashes, with cyclical <br />increases rather than sustained decline. <br />5 Year Trends and Emerging -Changes (2020-2024)_ <br />The most significant changes in the past five years are related to type of impairment and driver <br />complexity. <br />• Alcohol only: 4 <br />• Drug only: 3 <br />• Poly drug no alcohol: 4 <br />• Poly drug with alcohol: 2 <br />Drug and poly -drug impairment now meet or exceed alcohol -only cases. While alcohol -only cases total <br />11 over the full dataset, combined drug involvement surpasses alcohol, reflecting a shift toward more <br />complex impairment. <br />5 cases involved two or more drugs <br />• 8 cases involved no drugs <br />Poly -substance use has become a significant factor in fatal crashes, increasing challenges for <br />enforcement and prosecution. <br />Current Crash Characteristics and Risk Factors <br />• 58 percent single vehicle crashes <br />• 72 percent lane departure <br />• Speeding involved in 23 to 24 percent of crashes <br />• Distraction decreased from 14 percent to 8 percent <br />These crashes continue to reflect loss of vehicle control, often combined with high -risk behaviors such <br />as speeding. <br />Summary of Key Changes <br />• Shift from alcohol -only to drug and poly -drug impairment <br />• Increased presence of multi -substance use <br />page 3 of 26 <br />