Report: Most States Earn Average Grades in Highway Safety

As traffic deaths soar near record levels and hundreds of state law loopholes persist, most states earn average grades in nation’s highway safety report card

Most states earned average grades in a nationwide report card tracking state progress on the enactment of 15 model laws to curb the near record high number of deaths on the nation’s highways, according to an annual study issued Feb. 18 by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates).

In its fifth annual report, the "2008 Roadmap to State Highway Safety Laws," Advocates graded each state and Washington, D.C., based on their adoptions of 15 recommended traffic laws to require seat belt, child booster seat, and motorcycle helmet use; and to strengthen teen driving and drunk driving statutes.

The report found that no state has adopted all 15 traffic safety measures, and a combined total of only 25 new laws were enacted by the states in 2007, which leaves 324 potentially lethal loopholes that should be closed in 2008.

In 2006, more than 42,600 people were killed and 2.5 million were injured in motor vehicle crashes in the United States, which was the second highest number of traffic deaths since 1990 when 44,599 people died.

“More than half of those killed were unbuckled, and the number of motorcycle rider deaths continued to climb for the ninth consecutive year,” said Advocates president Judith Lee Stone. “At the same time, fatalities involving teen motorists and drunk drivers didn’t budge. We can and must do better, starting with this strong foundation of proven-effective laws.”

The "2008 Roadmap to State Highway Safety Laws" report cards graded states on their adoptions of the 15 model laws that are divided into four issue categories: adult occupant protection, child passenger safety, a teen driver Graduated Drivers Licensing system with a three-stage process, and impaired driving.

In each of the four issue categories, states were given one of three ratings based on how many optimal laws they have: Green (Good); Yellow (Caution - state needs improvement); and Red (Danger - state falls dangerously behind). Placement in one of the three ratings was based solely on whether or not a state had adopted a law as defined in the report, and not on any evaluation of a state's highway safety education-enforcement program or fatality rates.

Each state’s overall rating was based on the number of the 15 recommended laws enacted. In the overall grade, no state was eligible for a Green rating - no matter how many other laws they have - unless they enacted a primary enforcement seat belt law.

The 2008 state grades

GREEN STATES – States with 11 or more laws including primary enforcement seat belt law or nine or more including primary enforcement seat belt law and all-rider motorcycle helmet law: 17 states (Alabama, California, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington) and the Washington, D.C., received a Green rating, showing significant advancement toward adopting all of Advocates’ recommended optimal laws.

YELLOW STATES – States with six to 10 laws including primary enforcement seat belt law or seven to 13 laws without the primary belt law: 30 states (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin) received a Yellow rating, showing some advancement, but with numerous gaps still in their highway safety laws.

RED STATES – States with fewer than seven laws and no primary enforcement seat belt law: three states (Arkansas, South Dakota, and Wyoming) received a Red rating, indicating dangerous lack of key laws.

The only state to change categories in the 2008 report was Maine, which was elevated to Green from Yellow because of its enactment of a primary enforcement seat belt law in 2007.

Summary of 2007 state legislative action and the unfinished highway safety agenda:

24 states still need a primary enforcement seat belt law. Only one state – Maine – enacted this law in 2007.
30 states still need an all-rider motorcycle helmet law. In 2007, there were attempts in 15 states to repeal their existing all-rider motorcycle helmet laws. All attempts failed, and at the same time no state passed a helmet law.
33 states still need a child booster seat law through age 7. Of these states, 21 have partial laws. Only two states – Oregon and Virginia – enacted the optimal booster seat law in 2007, bringing the total to 17 states.
49 states still need a comprehensive teen driving Graduated Drivers Licensing program, but numerous states adopted various elements of the optimal GDL in 2007, such as Arizona, California, Illinois, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Many states are missing critical impaired driving laws, especially the mandatory ignition interlock device law for all DUI offenders, which is a law in only four states (Arizona, Illinois, Louisiana, and New Mexico).

The 6.2 million motor vehicle crashes in 2006 cost an estimated $230 billion related to deaths, injuries, property damage, productivity loses, medical bills, and other related costs.

“These economic losses are equivalent to a ‘crash tax’ of nearly $800 on every man, woman and child every year,” said Delegate Jolene Ivey, D-47, Cheverly, Md., who as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates serves on the Ways and Means Committee that oversees state revenues. “Our state and every state should act this year to protect our most precious resource – our children – and to prevent every parent’s worst nightmare from coming true.”

Every day, nine of 10 Americans use the nation’s 4 million miles of roadway to drive to work, school, or other destinations; and 119 people are killed and nearly 7,400 others are injured every day on our highways.

“Our message to state lawmakers and governors is simple and direct: Remove the roadblocks, stop taking wrong turns, quit idling, and start passing laws to save lives and save money,” said Advocates vice president Jacqueline Gillan. “No more excuses. Here’s the roadmap. Now let’s get going as if our lives depended on it, because they do.”

The complete "2008 Roadmap to State Highway Safety Laws" report and a replay of the webcasted news conference can be found on the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety website.

Source: Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety

Posted: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 12:00:00 AM. Modified: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 2:03:36 PM.

Salary Survey: Discounts for Participation & Membership

(317) 875-5250 - Indianapolis | (202) 628-1558 - Washington, D.C.

Contact NAMIC | Press | Advertise | Sponsor

We are 1,400 property/casualty insurance companies serving more than 135 million auto, home and business policyholders, with more than $196 billion in premiums accounting for 50 percent of the automobile/homeowners market and 31 percent of the business insurance market. We are the largest and most diverse property/casualty trade association in the country, with regional and local mutual insurance companies on main streets across America joining many of the country’s largest national insurers who also call NAMIC their home. More than 200,000 people are employed by NAMIC members.