PORTLAND (AP) – The number of people killed on Maine roads and highways dropped in 2005 to the lowest level in 23 years as state and local police stepped up enforcement on the most dangerous stretches of highways.

Preliminary statistics show 166 people died on state roads, Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said Sunday. That ties the record low that was set in 1982.

Col. Craig Poulin, state police chief, said 166 highway deaths were still too many but he remained hopeful that the downward trend would continue with renewed emphasis on driver education and accountability, as well as targeted law enforcement.

“I’d like to think we’re showing some signs of success. I’m cautiously optimistic that we can make those numbers go down (in 2006),” Poulin said.

Highway deaths were tracking downward throughout the year, at one time by as much as 30 percent from the previous year’s levels, McCausland said.

In 2004, the state ended the year with 194 highway deaths. Highway fatalities have hovered around 200 for the past couple of years. The highest number of highway deaths was 276 in 1970 while the lowest number in modern history was 166 in 1982.

The number of motorcycle deaths were down as well, with 15 fatalities. That compared with the 2004 level of 22, the highest in a decade, McCausland said.

Twelve of the 15 motorcycle victims were 39 or older, reflecting a continuing trend of older riders dying on motorcycles. Three riders who died were in their 20s; the youngest was 21, according to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Overall, the 35-44 and 45-54 age groups each accounted for more deaths than young riders over the past six years, the bureau reported.

Poulin said state police resources are stretched thin but that the traffic control division continues to focus on problem areas. Those include I-295 around Portland; Route 3 from Augusta to Belfast; Route 4 from Auburn to Livermore Falls; and Route 111 between Biddeford and Alfred.

“If you start with the premise that you have a few high-risk, high-problem areas, at least you know that’s a good beginning point,” he said.

Part of the problem is driver inattention and excessive speed on roads that were not engineered for the level of traffic they’re seeing, Poulin said.

“When you drive, drive. Don’t talk on the cell phone, read the Wall Street Journal or put on your makeup. You combine that with driving too fast on a busy highway and it’s not a good equation. Driving is really a full-time business,” he said.

-As for homicides, 19 people died at the hands of others in 2005, tying the figure from the previous year.

The year included the oldest homicide victim ever recorded in Maine, 98-year-old Hazel Templeman of Westport. She was shot by her husband, identified as Ronald Templeman, 86, who in turn killed himself, state police said.

The couple had been married 65 years. “This was domestic violence, which can occur at any age,” McCausland said.

-As for fires, 23 people died from fire or smoke inhalation in 2005. That represents the highest figure since 1999, when 24 people died from fires.

Those figures include two teenagers who died in a fiery car crash in July in Wiscasset, as well as two women who died in Eustis. The women had threatened suicide hours before a fire was set in their home. State police ruled it was a double suicide.

AP-ES-01-01-06 1330EST

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