The number of people killed in crashes peaked in 1988 at 3,152. Despite a decade of steady growth, deaths remained below that number.

1950 5-county area: 148, Statewide: 871

1955 5-county area: 159, Statewide: 978

1960 5-county area: 225, Statewide: 1,245

1965 5-county area: 302, Statewide: 1,665

1970 5-county area: 429, Statewide: 2,170

1975 5-county area: 429, Statewide: 2,040

1980 5-county area: 488, Statewide: 2,879

1985 5-county area: 596, Statewide: 2,870

1990 5-county area: 548, Statewide: 2,951

1991 5-county area: 452, Statewide: 2,523

1992 5-county area: 465, Statewide: 2,480

1993 5-county area: 495, Statewide: 2,719

1994 5-county area: 516, Statewide: 2,722

1995 5-county area: 572, Statewide: 2,847

1996 5-county area: 534, Statewide: 2,806

1997 5-county area: 547, Statewide: 2,811

19985-county area: 567**, Statewide: 2,845**

* 5 county area includes Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk and Manatee counties.
** 1998 statistics preliminary, expected to rise with delayed fatalities.

DUI arrests
Arrests have dropped since a peak in 1990 but authorities wonder how many drunk drivers are getting away.

Year	Hillsborough	Pinellas	Pasco	Polk	Manatee	5-county	Statewide
1988	3,349	5,312	1,815	1,257	1,067	12,800	64,673
1989	3,432	4,945	2,167	1,281	952	12,777	67,032
1990	3,854	4,735	2,325	1,231	1,170	13,315	76,821
1991	3,196	3,550	2,024	1,170	1,119	11,059	66,867
1992	2,769	4,075	2,005	1,262	925	11,036	65,170
1993	3,729	3,550	1,906	1,131	779	11,095	60,581
1994	3,741	3,923	1,952	1,203	799	11,618	62,152
1995	4,120	4,104	1,599	1,036	660	11,519	60,467
1996	3,968	4,144	1,733	1,092	773	11,710	62,439
1997	3,206	3,896	1,453	917	686	10,158	56,530

Hit-and-run incidents
In 1997, fatal hit and run incidents surged in counties surrounding Hillsborough. If not for that increase, statewide numbers would have dropped for the third year in a row.

Year	Hillsborough	Pinellas	Pasco	Polk	Manatee	5-county	Statewide
1986	13	13	6	5	3	40	216
1987	20	4	6	4	3	37	229
1988	22	12	5	8	5	52	242
1989	18	11	7	11	3	50	247
1990	21	9	4	7	3	44	223
1991	22	5	2	3	2	34	156
1992	12	4	1	4	1	22	150
1993	14	8	2	6	0	30	185
1994	17	4	6	5	2	34	197
1995	15	6	7	7	3	38	177
1996	13	5	1	5	2	26	174
1997	12	14	9	7	10	52	199