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June 2, 1999 9:44 AM, EDT

Fatalities from crashes involving large trucks dropped 1.8% from 5,398 in 1997 to an estimated 5,302 in 1998, Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater announced at a May 25 press conference.

It is the first time in three years that trucking's raw fatality number has declined.

Slater said the latest number is preliminary, with the final figure to come in July.

The news was manna from heaven to trucking officials who have had to defend rising fatality numbers by stressing instead the fatality rate. The rate, which relates fatal accidents to the increasing number of miles that truckers drive, had been in steady decline since the early 1980s and has flattened out since 1995.

American Trucking Associations spokeswoman Regina Blakely welcomed Slater's announcement. "We think it shows the responsible trucking industry has stepped up to make the roads as safe as possible."

For the full story, see the May 31 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.