Report Cards to Rate 50 States & DC on Top Traffic Safety Laws to Curb Historic Rise in Roadway Deaths

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Amidst a historic increase in U.S. roadway deaths, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates) will host a news conference via livestream on Tuesday, January 18, to unveil the 2022 ROADMAP OF STATE HIGHWAY SAFETY LAWS, an annual report card detailing the degree to which the 50 states and DC have adopted 16 optimal traffic safety laws proven to reduce crashes, injuries and deaths. Advocates will also release a new public opinion poll on leading roadway safety concerns. The report's release comes as many states across the country are opening their 2022 legislative sessions.

The 2022 Roadmap Report will:

• Rate each state and DC as green, yellow or red, based on the number of optimal traffic safety laws enacted,
• Identify Best & Worst states, and
• Recommend specific legislative actions each state should take during the 2022 legislative session to close lethal loopholes in their traffic safety laws and reverse the deadly trend of rising traffic deaths.

Deaths on U.S. roadways are skyrocketing with more than 20,000 people killed during the first six months of 2021, the most during this period since 2006. This accounts for a nearly 20 percent rise in deaths over the same period in 2020 -- the largest such spike ever recorded in the U.S. (Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

Safety advocates, elected officials, as well as law enforcement, medical and insurance professionals will present the 2022 report cards specifying legislative solutions to address speed- and alcohol-related crashes, seat belt use, distracted driving, teen driving, and motorcycle helmet use in each state.

WHEN: Tuesday, January 18, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. EST

WHERE:
This news conference will be livestreamed at http://www.saferoads.org. Closed captioning will be available. Reporters tuning into the livestream are invited to submit questions during the event. Individual interviews with speakers also can be arranged upon request.

WHO:

• Cathy Chase, President, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.
• U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois), Chair, House of Representatives Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.
• Assemblywoman Shannon Bilbray-Axelrod (D-Nevada), Sponsor of child passenger safety legislation enacted in 2021 in Nevada.
• Alex Otte, National President, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
• Mary Jagim MS, RN, CEN, FAEN, 2001 President, Emergency Nurses Association, Wisconsin.
• Alan Maness, Vice President of Federal Affairs, State Farm Insurance
• Lieutenant Carmen Trevizo, Oro Valley Police Department, Arizona. NOTE: Lt. Trevizo esta disponible para entrevistas en Español.

ELECTRONIC MEDIA KIT, including the 2022 Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws report and poll results, will be available online Tuesday, January 18, 2022 at 12:01 AM EST at http://www.saferoads.org. Embargoed copies of the Roadmap Report will be made available to the media upon request.

"A crisis of this magnitude requires every state to act with urgency this year," said Advocates' President Cathy Chase. "The U.S. Department of Transportation must also move expeditiously on the pending vehicle and roadway safety directives in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law in November 2021."

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety is an alliance of consumer, medical, public health, law enforcement and safety groups and insurance companies and agents working together to make America's roads safer. Advocates' mission is the adoption of federal and state laws, policies and programs that prevent motor vehicle crashes, save lives, reduce injuries, and contain costs.

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Media Contact

Bill Bronrott, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, +1 2022704415, [email protected]

Pete Daniels, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, 301-442-2249, [email protected]

SOURCE Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety