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Maine Overdose Deaths May Exceed Traffic Deaths
January 12, 2006

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Research Summary

The final numbers are not yet in, but Maine officials anticipate that -- for the first time -- more residents died last year of drug overdoses than in traffic accidents, long the top cause of accidental deaths in the state.

The Associated Press reported Jan. 11 that preliminary data show that 178 Mainers died of overdoses in 2005, while 168 people died in traffic accidents. Drug-related deaths in the state have roughly tripled since 2000, while highway deaths have declined: traffic deaths in 2005 were the lowest since 1982.

Most of the overdose deaths were accidental; accidental overdoses increased from 19 in 1997 to 140 in 2005, often involving prescription drugs.

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