How N.J. stacks up on highway safety laws
Geico's latest quarterly magazine has an article based on a report by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety that graded states on their highway safety laws. It divided states into three groups - green (the best), yellow and red (the worst) - based on how many of 15 laws deemed helpful in reducing auto deaths and injuries have been passed.
The report, "The 2007 Road Map to State Highway Safety," put New Jersey in the green group, based on its passage of 12 of 15 optimal laws. The report should be required reading for anyone interested in reducing the carnage on the highways.
The three areas where New Jersey falls short, according to the report:
Unlike 31 other states, it does not require beginning teen drivers to receive at least 30-50 hours of behind-the-wheel training with an adult licensed driver.
Unlike eight other states, it does not prohibit unsupervised driving after 10 p.m. Forty-one percent of teenage motor vehicle deaths in 2003 occurred between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Unlike 38 other states, New Jersey has not created a separate, more severe offense or enhanced existing penalties for impaired drivers that are found to have a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) well over the maximum legal BAC level. An optimal statute, the report said, is one that adds penalties for drivers with a BAC above .15 percent.
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, young drivers (16 to 20 years old) were involved in approximately 1.8 million, or 29 percent, of all automobile crashes (6.2 million) in 2005. Additionally, 8,004 people were killed in crashes involving young drivers.
Other interesting findings in the report:
Seat belt use is the single most effective way of reducing deaths in motor vehicle crashes. Yet, the United States ranks among the lowest in the developed world for seat belt usage. In 2005, 55 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed in traffic crashes were not wearing seat belts. The national use rate is 82 percent.
Based on estimated miles traveled annually, teen drivers ages 16-19 have a fatality rate four times the rate of drivers ages 25 to 69. Sixteen-year-old drivers have a crash rate three times more than 17-year-olds, five times greater than 18-year-olds, and two times that of 85-year-olds.
Drivers are less likely to use seat belts when they have been drinking. In 2004, 62 percent of the young drivers who were killed in crashes were not wearing seat belts.
Twenty-two percent of young drivers killed in fatal crashes in 2004 were intoxicated.
The report, "The 2007 Road Map to State Highway Safety," put New Jersey in the green group, based on its passage of 12 of 15 optimal laws. The report should be required reading for anyone interested in reducing the carnage on the highways.
The three areas where New Jersey falls short, according to the report:
Unlike 31 other states, it does not require beginning teen drivers to receive at least 30-50 hours of behind-the-wheel training with an adult licensed driver.
Unlike eight other states, it does not prohibit unsupervised driving after 10 p.m. Forty-one percent of teenage motor vehicle deaths in 2003 occurred between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Unlike 38 other states, New Jersey has not created a separate, more severe offense or enhanced existing penalties for impaired drivers that are found to have a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) well over the maximum legal BAC level. An optimal statute, the report said, is one that adds penalties for drivers with a BAC above .15 percent.
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, young drivers (16 to 20 years old) were involved in approximately 1.8 million, or 29 percent, of all automobile crashes (6.2 million) in 2005. Additionally, 8,004 people were killed in crashes involving young drivers.
Other interesting findings in the report:
Seat belt use is the single most effective way of reducing deaths in motor vehicle crashes. Yet, the United States ranks among the lowest in the developed world for seat belt usage. In 2005, 55 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed in traffic crashes were not wearing seat belts. The national use rate is 82 percent.
Based on estimated miles traveled annually, teen drivers ages 16-19 have a fatality rate four times the rate of drivers ages 25 to 69. Sixteen-year-old drivers have a crash rate three times more than 17-year-olds, five times greater than 18-year-olds, and two times that of 85-year-olds.
Drivers are less likely to use seat belts when they have been drinking. In 2004, 62 percent of the young drivers who were killed in crashes were not wearing seat belts.
Twenty-two percent of young drivers killed in fatal crashes in 2004 were intoxicated.
posted by Randy Bergmann at 10:03 AM
1 Comments:
Send the study to Gov Corzine and tell him they hire stunt doubles to fall out of cars at 90 mph.
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