MEDIA ADVISORY
New Report Grades States on Highway Safety Laws
10th Annual Roadmap Report Highlights New Federal Funds for States that Take Action on Safety Initiatives
WHAT: NEWS CONFERENCE – Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates) will release its tenth annual report card grading all 50 states and the District of Columbia on their performance in adopting 15 basic highway safety laws on adult and child occupant protection, impaired and distracted driving, and teen driving. This year’s report focuses on the new incentive grant programs created in July, 2012, under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, MAP-21, (Pub. L. 112-141) to encourage state enactment of teen driver licensing laws, all-offender ignition interlock laws, distracted driving laws and occupant protection programs. Recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show a dramatic reversal of previous declines in crash deaths, projecting a 7.1 percent increase of deaths in the first 9 months of 2012, compared to the first 9 months of 2011.
The 2013 Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws report will feature the best and worst performing states, states making the most and least progress over the past year, dangerous loopholes in each state that contribute to preventable death and injury, and state-specific data on traffic deaths, injuries and related economic losses.
WHEN: Tuesday, January 15, 2013 at 10 a.m. EST
WHERE: National Press Club, Zenger Room, 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC
WHO: Jacqueline S. Gillan, President, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
Dr. Georges Benjamin, Executive Director, American Public Health Association
Sherry Chapman, Coventry, CT, Chapman's 19-year-old son Ryan was killed in December 2002 when the car in which he was riding as a passenger crashed. Chapman has become a tireless advocate for teen driving safety and is co-founder and president of Mourning Parents Act, Inc. (!MPACT).
Major Mark Savage, Colorado State Patrol, and President, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA)
Jan Withers, President, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
LIVE WEBCAST of the news conference at http://www.visualwebcaster.com/highwaysafetylaws.
Please click here for the full media advisory.
