San Diego

Traffic fatalities for the first six months of this year are down 22% from last year, police spokesman Bill Robinson said.

In the first half of 1990, 39 people were killed in traffic accidents, down from 50 killed in the first six months of 1989, he said. The department’s full-time speed enforcement team has identified many of the areas where speeding and accidents occur and concentrates on those areas, he added.

He said vigorous enforcement of parking prohibitions in hazardous locations and more arrests of drunk drivers are possible reasons for the decrease in traffic fatalities.

Arrests for driving under the influence rose 14.8%, with 4,276 reported so far this year, compared to 3,725 in the first half of 1989. He said the Jan. 1 change in state law covering the amount of alcohol that constitutes being drunk might be one reason for the increase. The department also increased its enforcement team efforts from one shift to all shifts, he said.

Traffic collisions were down 6.7%, with 12,023 reported in the first six months of 1990, compared to 12,885 in 1989, Robinson said.