Traffic fatalities drop in Missouri

For the second year in a row, Missouri traffic deaths dropped, reaching the lowest level for fatalities in 15 years.

The number of deaths from traffic crashes in Missouri dropped to 976 in 2007, down by 11 percent. It was the first time since 1993 that fatalities were below 1,000. There were 1,257 deaths in 2005 and 1,096 in 2006.

A group of safety advocates joined forces in 2004 to form the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety to attack traffic crashes. Among the reasons they credited for the decrease were increased law enforcement and education, as well as the state’s engineering advances such as the installation of median guard cable on interstates, rumble stripes, smoother pavement and brighter signs and striping to help keep drivers on the road. •

Round up old car batteries

A 95-percent recycling rate makes lead-acid batteries the most highly recycled product, but with thousands of batteries failing every day, some are slipping through the cracks and not making it into the recycling system.

To catch the strays, AAA will conduct its annual Great Battery Roundup® from April 19–25 in conjunction with the national Earth Day celebration. On these dates, the public is encouraged to bring any old car, truck, boat and motorcycle batteries to participating AAA Approved Auto Repair facilities for proper recycling.

A list of Approved Auto Repair facilities can be found here. You can visit www.AAA.com or call 1-800-222-7623, ext. 6821, to learn of the participating locations in your area.

The Great Battery Roundup® augments the year-round collection efforts of the AAA Battery Service, which is available in select areas and removes used batteries for recycling each time a replacement automotive battery is installed. AAA offers mobile battery testing and installation in St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, Mo., and Evansville, Ind.

The AAA Battery Service will come to you, evaluate your battery with state-of-the-art diagnostic tools and replace it, if necessary, with the battery most suited to your car. AAA batteries are competitively priced and carry a three-year warranty. Visit www.AAA.com for details.