Dive Brief:
- States must upgrade seat-belt and distracted-driving laws and allow for automated red light and speed enforcement to help cut the number of traffic deaths and injuries on U.S. roads, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety declares in a 68-page report released Dec. 5.
- The report rates nine states as failing to adopt some traffic safety laws recommended by the organization: Idaho, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming. Six states — Louisiana, Maryland, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington state — along with Washington, D.C., received the organization’s highest rating for making progress toward implementing all the recommended laws.
- On the federal level, the advocacy group’s president, Cathy Chase, urged congressional leaders to “prioritize the vehicle and infrastructure safety improvements in our report,” during a Dec. 5 news conference. She also encouraged the U.S. Department of Transportation to formulate standards for vehicle safety technologies.
Dive Insight:
Traffic deaths remain higher than at any time in the previous decade. More than 43,000 people died in vehicle collisions in 2021, with overall traffic deaths declining slightly in 2022 and 2023, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Speeding, distracted driving and aggressive driving are among the leading causes of traffic deaths according to a Dec. 5 AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety report.
Chase said that an average of 116 people die and more than 6,500 are injured every day in motor vehicle collisions in the U.S. “I'm disappointed to report that not a single state has implemented all 18 essential safety laws and provisions” outlined in the report by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, she said during the press conference.
The report calls out 15 states for not allowing traffic stops to enforce front and rear seat belt laws and 28 states for needing stronger impaired driving laws. The advocacy organization also urges 26 states to permit red-light cameras and 22 states to allow automated speed enforcement.
Improved seat belt laws are expected or in process in Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio and Virginia, Chase said, while measures to better protect children riding in cars are anticipated in Alabama, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C. “We urge states and localities to pursue significant funding to upgrade roadway infrastructure safety that is currently available through 2026 due to the bipartisan infrastructure law,” she added.
