With about a week to go in June, the Iowa Department of Transportation projects statewide fatalities to come in under previous June tallies. As of Monday, there have been 15 traffic fatalities in the state this June, and if the current pace holds, it should be the lowest number of fatalities in the last five years. However, traffic fatalities are still much higher this year than they have been over that same time frame. Since January, there have been 158 traffic fatalities statewide. The average over the last five years over the same period is 133, though even that is inflated by the 169 deaths in 2012.

Iowa State Trooper Jason Marlow said he hasn’t heard a great explanation for why deaths have been high this year. He says it could just be a result of the last few years being uncharacteristically low and maybe we’re returning closer to the mean. Marlow urges people to practice safe driving habits.