N.Y. Traffic Deaths Drop 27%

Deaths among vehicle occupants declined 27% during the first three months of New York’s first-in-the-nation mandatory seat belt law, state Motor Vehicles Commissioner John Passidomo reported today.

Passidomo credited the drop in fatalities, as compared to the first three months of 1984, to the state’s new seat belt law. Passidomo also praised the state’s tough anti-drunk driving laws for helping reduce the number of deaths.