Professionals Predict Thousands of Traffic Deaths

 June 10, 2011 / 8:00 p.m.

                       For more information:                       Paul Stamler                        (203) 488-9808 (telephone)                        (203) 988-2348 (cell)                          highwaysafet ynews.com

Professionals Predict Thousands of Traffic Deaths In 18 Secondary Seat Belt States Across the U.S.

   New Haven, CT -- Amid the high-level, upbeat publicity surrounding "Click It or Ticket" campaigns during the past few weeks, along with declines in highway deaths and injuries due in great part to the struggling economy, there's some very disturbing news traffic safety professionals aren't sharing with the public.

    "Our new survey of many of the nation's top highway safety authorities indicates that most campaigns to prod state legislators to enact primary seat belt laws in secondary law states are either lost at sea or dead in the water," according to Paul Stamler, editor of Highway and Vehicle/Safety Report.  "And if the secondary law states remain secondary, the result could be thousands of deaths and injuries of motorists and their passengers, as well as huge economic losses."  

   Fears of higher death and injury totals due to insufficient seat belt use rates are even sharper with the onset of summer and the upcoming Fourth of July holiday bringing with them the annual increase in highway driving.  The problematic topic of states lagging behind in passing primary belt use laws will be highlighted in the June 16 issue of the Report.

   Currently there are 18 states with secondary seat belt laws, and it's projected that hundreds of vehicle occupants are being killed and many more injured in traffic crashes in those 18 states every year because of the weaker laws.  This total could climb into the thousands while state legislatures all but ignore this problem, according to Judith Lee Stone, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.  Thirty-one states have already enacted primary laws.  Lagging farthest behind, New Hampshire remains the only U.S. state with no adult belt use law at all.

   In these times of political chaos, state legislators as well as governors—distracted by the economy, budgets, and other high-profile issues—simply aren't paying attention to lifesaving measures like primary belt laws.  According to a spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, only two of the 18 states with secondary laws—Massachusetts and Rhode Island—currently have "active" legislation to upgrade their belt use laws from secondary to primary.  And there's good reason to believe that one or both might not give the measure the priority status it needs to get it passed.

   "There's almost 100 percent agreement that seat belts are and will continue to be the most effective safety devices ever devised to prevent highway deaths and mitigate injuries," Stamler noted.  "However, here's the obvious truth: Seat belts only work if they're fastened.  And a significant percentage of vehicle occupants in the United States—and many other countries, as well—require aggressive enforcement to get them to buckle up." chevrolet ;

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   The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is well aware that the stakes are high.  According to observational data ci alfa romeo ted in a recent agency Technology Transfer Series, during the 2003 to 2008 period, states that upgraded from secondary to primary enforcement reaped average increases in belt use of 10 percent.

   Despite the seriousness of distracted driving, which has been getting a lot of attention, seat belt nonuse, driving under the influence, along with excessive speeding are even more hazardous.

   The 31 states with primary belt use laws are: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Tex rc helicopter and car market place as, Washington, and Wisconsin.  The District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands also have primary belt use laws in effect.

   The 18 states with secondary laws: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.  This list clearly shows that it's not only the small states that have secondary laws.  Many more citizens are dying and being injured in some of the most populous states due to these weaker laws and lower usage rates.

   Right now, with gasoline prices dropping a little from their record highs car news and the economy still in serious trouble, traffic fatalities are substantially lower.  However, every time this country experiences an economic recovery, highway death rates follow that recovery and climb back to higher levels.  "This is just what safety authorities are predicting.  Sadly, it might take until then to begin seeing efforts to upgrade belt laws in states with secondary laws," warned Stamler.

   Meanwhile, the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute is completing a study for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  It will examine the experience of the last 10 states that upgraded their laws from 1086274749  secondary to primary in order to provide state and regional safety officials with ideas to encourage legislators, lobbyists, transportation officials, and other interested people to pay attention to this lifesaving issue.

   "However, it remains to be seen whether those who support primary laws will be able to generate sufficient interest in the saving of lives when officials in so many states are focused on other issues," Stamler concluded.   "The real irony is that during this economic crisis, primary measures would result in major cost savings as well as life savings.

Highway & Vehicle Safety Report has been and continues to be the only independent traffic safety publication for professionals in the United States.  Solely subscriber-supported, the Report has maintained its commitment to accept no advertising and provide its readers with objective information and analysis for more than 35 years of continuous publication.  For more information, go to www.highwaysafetynews.com.

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