Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Healthy You
    • Job listings
    • Q&As
    • Special sections
  • Multimedia
    • Quiz
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • App
  • FAQs
    • Advertising
    • Subscriptions
    • For APHA members
    • Internships
    • Change of address
  • About
    • About The Nation's Health
    • Submissions
    • Permissions
    • Purchase articles
    • Join APHA
  • Contact us
    • Feedback
  • APHA
    • AJPH
    • NPHW

User menu

  • My alerts

Search

  • Advanced search
The Nation's Health
  • APHA
    • AJPH
    • NPHW
  • My alerts
The Nation's Health

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Healthy You
    • Job listings
    • Q&As
    • Special sections
  • Multimedia
    • Quiz
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • App
  • FAQs
    • Advertising
    • Subscriptions
    • For APHA members
    • Internships
    • Change of address
  • About
    • About The Nation's Health
    • Submissions
    • Permissions
    • Purchase articles
    • Join APHA
  • Contact us
    • Feedback
  • Follow The Nation's Health on Twitter
  • Follow APHA on Twitter
  • Visit APHA on Facebook
  • Follow APHA on Youtube
  • Follow APHA on Instagram
  • Follow The Nation's Health RSS feeds
NewsWeb-only News

Lack of state laws on traffic safety endangers lives

Tiggi Jalloh
The Nation's Health April 2018, 48 (2) E6;
Tiggi Jalloh
  • Search for this author on this site

More than 37,400 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2016, and early 2017 data suggest that the number continues to rise. A new report offers tools to help states implement their laws and reduce traffic deaths and injuries.

On Jan. 22, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety released its 2018 Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws, an annual measure of state progress on adopting 16 traffic safety laws. The laws aim to save lives and reduce crash-related costs addressing child passenger safety, teen driving, distracted driving, occupant protection and impaired driving. The report also highlighted the best- and worst-performing states by ranking all 50 states and the District of Columbia on the adoption of such laws.

Rhode Island earned the top rating, with 13 out of 16 safety laws adopted. The state adopted all of the optimal laws for child passenger safety, impaired driving and distracted driving.

According to the roadmap, 37,461 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2016. The report shows that fatalities increased 5.6 percent from 2015 to 2016 on top of an 8.4 percent increase from 2014 to 2015.

“Approximately 100 people are killed and 6,500 more are injured in crashes every day, on average,” said Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, in a news release. “Further, this comes with a significant economic burden on society. Each person in America pays an annual ‘crash tax’ of $784. When loss of life, pain and decreased quality of life are factored in, society shoulders $836 billion a year. This significant emotional and economic toll must be addressed with urgency and immediacy.”

No states have adopted all 16 laws recommended in the roadmap, but there were improvements in 2017. Thirteen laws were passed by states last year that met the report’s criteria. Individual states also took steps toward improved motor vehicle and highway safety. California upgraded to the roadmap’s highest ranking category after implementing a law requiring children under 2 to be secured in rear-facing booster seats, becoming one of just nine states to have such a law. Mississippi, Nevada, North Dakota and Pennsylvania moved from the lowest to the middle ranking.

The report stated that public support and advocacy for increasing state and federal laws are important in highway and auto safety. Georges Benjamin, MD, executive director of APHA, called for government officials to put on their public health hats when working toward the goal of making all roadways safer.

“As with every other public health challenge, we must look to solutions that are shown to be effective in saving lives and preventing injuries,” Benjamin said at a Washington, D.C., news conference announcing the report on Jan. 22.

To find more information about the 2018 roadmap report, visit www.saferoads.org.

To learn more about transportation and health, visit www.apha.org/topics-and-issues/transportation.

  • Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

The Nation's Health: 48 (2)
The Nation's Health
Vol. 48, Issue 2
April 2018
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Complete Issue (PDF)

Healthy You

Print
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article
We do not capture any email addresses.
Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Lack of state laws on traffic safety endangers lives
(Your Name) has sent you a message from The Nation's Health
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this item on The Nation's Health website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Lack of state laws on traffic safety endangers lives
Tiggi Jalloh
The Nation's Health April 2018, 48 (2) E6;

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Lack of state laws on traffic safety endangers lives
Tiggi Jalloh
The Nation's Health April 2018, 48 (2) E6;
Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
Tweet Widget Facebook Like LinkedIn logo

Jump to section

  • Top

More in this TOC Section

  • Resources: February/March 2022
  • Newsmakers: February/March 2022
  • Resources: January 2022
Show more Web-only News

Subjects

  • Vehicle Safety

Popular features

  • Healthy You
  • Special sections
  • Q&As
  • Quiz
  • Podcasts

FAQs

  • Advertising
  • Subscriptions
  • For APHA members
  • Submissions
  • Change of address

APHA

  • Join APHA
  • Annual Meeting
  • NPHW
  • AJPH
  • Get Ready
  • Contact APHA
  • Privacy policy

© 2023 The Nation's Health

Powered by HighWire