TALLAHASSEE (AP) – Highway deaths are at an 8-year low in Florida.

And for the first time since 2000, fewer than 3,000 people lost their lives on the state’s roadways, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported Monday.

There were 2,983 highway deaths in 2008, a decrease of 238 from the previous year, the agency reported, noting that fewer vehicles were on the road in large part due to the slumping economy.