With a sharp uptick in fatal vehicle crashes last year in Iowa, law enforcement is hopeful to drop the number significantly in 2017.

Iowa State Patrol Safety Officer Alex Dinkla says one of the challenges in keeping numbers down has been enforcement capability. He’s hopeful more troopers can be hired to help enforce more laws, which he believes will help save more lives.

Pella Police Lt. Paul Haase says reducing fatalities is the goal of all agencies, and he’s hopeful drivers continue to obey all traffic laws every day to help that cause.

According to the Iowa Department of Transportation, 401 people were killed on Iowa’s roadways in 2016.