---

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, February 25, 1992                   TAG: 9202250272
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

---

TRAFFIC DEATHS

THE NUMBER of women drivers being killed in traffic accidents increased by about 60 percent from 1975 to 1990, according to federal transportation officials. In the same period, the number of men drivers killed in traffic accidents dropped by about 10 percent.

The reason for the trend is not clear, but members of the Transportation Research Board speculate it may have something to do with women being under more stress as more of them try to balance jobs with family obligations. It's also suggested that more may be driving under the influence of alcohol.

A simpler explanation may be that more women are working in jobs that pay, and so are driving more to get to and from their work. Women, in other words, are driving more like men.

Whatever the reason, the traffic-death statistics aren't comforting, and the message to women drivers ought to be the same as for men: Don't drink and drive. Take it easy. Slow down.

Keywords:
FATALITY

---