The 2007 Roadmap
|
2007 ROADMAP TO STATE HIGHWAY SAFETY LAWS JANUARY 2007 |
| This report highlights gaps in Advocates' list of 15 essential and lifesaving highway safety laws and is a call to action for Governors and state legislators. Motor vehicle crashes continue to cause over 43,000 deaths and 3 million injuries per year and cost the nation over $230 billion. Passage of the 15 laws identified in Advocates' report will help prevent these tragedies and, at the same time, will save the states billions of dollars in economic costs associated with highway crashes. |
 |
CLICK
HERE FOR THE FULL REPORT
(61 pages...please be patient) |
|
| In
January 2004, Advocates published its first State Roadmap Report
to provide guidance to each state on where it stood relative to
the rest of the nation in implementing highway safety laws. This
year, with few new laws to report, Advocates urges states to set
an aggressive highway safety legislative agenda to stem the tide
of deaths and injuries on our nation's roadways. More than any
other action, public policy interventions change behavior and
have immediate impact on improving outcomes. The laws recommended
by Advocates save lives and save money.
Deaths from
motor vehicle crashes changed very little this past year, (43,443
in 2005, from 42,636 in 2004) and motor vehicle crashes are
still the leading cause of death for all Americans ages four
to 34, killing 119 people every day. By any definition, this
is truly a public health epidemic. If each highway safety law
is considered a vaccine to inoculate our children, our friends,
and our communities against a leading cause of death, every
law listed in our Roadmap report should be at the top of each
state's legislative agenda in 2007. |
|
 |
|
|
Occupant Protection Seat Belts: Only three states, Alaska, Kentucky, and Mississippi adopted a primary enforcement seat belt law; 25 states still need to adopt this important law. Motorcycle Helmets: Currently, 30 states do not require all-rider helmet law protection. In most of the 20 states and DC with the optimal law, anti-helmet groups battle each year to repeal the all-rider helmet requirement. There were six unsuccessful repeal attempts in 2006. No state passed a motorcycle helmet law in 2006. Booster Seats: While five states passed booster seat laws (AL, HI, KS, MO, WI), only two of the states enacted Advocates' recommended booster seat law that covers children up to age eight (HI, KS, MO, WI). Out of 38 states and the District of Columbia (DC) with booster seat laws, only 15 states and DC have the recommended optimal booster seat law.
Graduated
Driver Licensing (GDL)
Impaired
Driving |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
For more information on this report, please contact Jaime Alvis at jalvis@saferoads.org or (202) 408-1711.
