2008 ROADMAP TO STATE HIGHWAY SAFETY LAWS FEBRUARY 2008 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. In 2006, motor vehicle crashes caused over 42,000 deaths and over 2.5 million injuries 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 (60 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, 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 2008. Occupant Protection Seat Belts: Only one state, Maine adopted a primary enforcement seat belt law; 24 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 15 unsuccessful repeal attempts in 2007. No state passed a motorcycle helmet law in 2007. Booster Seats: Two states passed booster seat laws (OR, VA). Out of 36 states and the District of Columbia (DC) with booster seat laws, only 17 states and DC have the recommended optimal booster seat law. Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) Improvement occurred in the enactment of laws to improve teen driver safety. A total of 19 new laws, covering five major GDL provisions, were passed nationwide. Three nighttime restriction (AZ, NE, OH, ), six passenger restriction (AZ, ID, IL, NE, NV, OH), two 30-50 hours supervised driving (AZ, NE), three 6-month holding period provisions (ID, IL, NE), and five cell phone restrictions (CA, NE, OR, VA, WV) were passed nationwide. Only one state, Delaware, has adopted all five of Advocates' optimal GDL provisions. Impaired Driving Only one impaired driving law recommended by Advocates was passed among all 50 states: three Ignition Interlock Device (IID) laws (AZ, IL, LA). Please Read the Full Report to Find Out More About: Advocates' Grading Criteria Complete State Listing of Existing Highway Safety Laws Definitions of the 15 Lifesaving Laws In-depth State-by-State Highway Safety Information Emerging Trends in Highway Safety Legislation For more information on this report, please contact Jaime Alvis at jalvis@saferoads.org or (202) 408-1711. © 2008 Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety 750 First St. NE, Suite 901, Washington, DC 20002 Phone: 202 / 408-1711 Fax: 202 / 408-1699