Two-thirds of Missouri’s traffic fatalities in 2021 involved unbuckled motorists

State transportation officials are raising concerns about the increasing number of Missouri traffic fatalities.

More than 1,000 people were killed in traffic crashes across the state in 2021, the first time that’s happened since 2006.

State Department of Transportation (MoDOT) director Patrick McKenna describes the fatalities as unacceptable, alarming and preventable. He says two-thirds of the vehicle occupants killed weren’t wearing seat belts.