LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The number of traffic fatalities and DUIs were both down in Los Angeles County this New Year’s, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The CHP reported Sunday there was one traffic-related death on Los Angeles County highways during the first 36 hours of this holiday.

The lone reported death was a 56-year-old man killed about 12:50 a.m. today while riding a motorcycle on a freeway transition road from the northbound Golden State (5) Freeway to the westbound Ronald Reagan (118) Freeway. He died at the scene.

The reporting period began at 6:01 p.m. Friday and ended today at 6 a.m.

During an equivalent period last year, the CHP reported two traffic-related deaths in Los Angeles County.

Statewide, this year, there were 12 reported deaths, in comparison to 15 last year.

Also, in Los Angeles County, the CHP arrested 186 motorists for suspicion of drunken driving, down from last year’s total of 213.

Statewide the CHP recorded 932 drunken driving arrests this year, in comparison to 873 last year.

The CHP totals reflect arrests only by the state police agency, and not local police departments. And the holiday fatality toll sometimes lags behind actual events, as traffic deaths are not always promptly reported to the CHP by local police or hospitals.

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