SELLERSBURG, Ind. (AP) — State police say 883 people were killed on Indiana roadways in 2007, down by 19 from the previous year.

Police say the preliminary total for 2007 continues a downward trend of fatalities over the past few years. There were 902 fatalities recorded in 2006, 938 in 2005 and 947 in 2004.

They attribute the decline to increased law enforcement, increased seat belt use and safer vehicles.

State police Sgt. Jerry Goodin says that up to half the people who lost their lives on Indiana roadways last year would have survived if they had been wearing seat belts.

The state’s fewest traffic deaths since record keeping began around World War II came in 2002 at 792.

Posted 1/3/2008