Figures

6%

The decrease in traffic fatalities on Tennessee’s roadways since 2004, the year after the state lowered the minimum blood-alcohol content to 0.08 percent for drunken driving offenses in 2003. A year later the state began allowing police officers to pull over motorists who weren’t wearing seat belts. Fatalities have dropped from 1,339 fatalities in 2004 down to 1,259 in 2006.

20

The early estimate of the number of people killed when tornadoes swept through central Florida earlier this month, leaving communities in shambles. A state of emergency was declared in in four counties: Lake, Volusia, Sumter and Seminole. Initial estimates indicated that as many as 500 properties were damages at a cost of about $80 million.

40%

The percent of campaign funds that Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale reported receiving from insurance industry contributors. Dale, who is running for re-election, reported that $53,800 of the $133,350 he raised in 2006 was donated by insurance companies, their political action committees or individuals who say they work in the industry.

400

The number of West Virginia flood victims whose claims against coal mine companies for causing floodwaters to rise in 2001 were dismissed by a circuit judge. Ohio County Circuit Judge Arthur M. Recht said that the plaintiffs who live in the Coal River watershed failed to provide specific enough information about their allegations for the case to proceed. The victims had claimed that logging and mining operations by Peabody Energy Corp. and Massey Energy Co. and others exacerbated the damage caused by rising floodwaters. Estimates set the seven-county tally at $143 million. Lawyers said ruling might also apply to the roughly 800 residents who live in different watersheds who have filed similar complaints.

16

The age of drivers in Georgia enrolled in mandatory driver’s education classes. A new state law, which took effect Jan. 1, says 16-year-olds can’t get a license until they take 30 hours of classroom instruction and have 40 hours of driving experience supervised by a parent or a certified driving instructor.