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Report: Highway Safety Laws In The Mountain West All Over The Road

Seat belt requirements and cell phone restrictions were among the categories Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety analyzed in its annual Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws report.
Alex Weimer
/
Flickr
Seat belt requirements and cell phone restrictions were among the categories Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety analyzed in its annual Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws report.

Every year, road crashes injure millions of Americans, killing tens of thousands and costing taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. According to a new analysis, states in the Mountain West could be doing more to curb crashes.

The 17th annual Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws from Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety looked at 16 laws across five categories, including seat belt requirements, child passenger safety and distracted driving. States that have several of these laws on the books received a green rating, while those that have passed very few received a red.

“Twelve states were given the lowest red rating because they are dangerously behind in the adoption of recommended laws,” said Catherine Chase, the organization’s president.

A look at the rankings of all states and the District of Columbia. In the Mountain West, three states received yellow ratings, and three received red.
Credit Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety
A look at the rankings of all states and the District of Columbia. In the Mountain West, three states received yellow ratings, and three received red.

Three of those states are in the Mountain West: Montana, Nevada and Wyoming. Just seven states and the District of Columbia received green ratings.

Chase said it isn’t just about safety; there’s also economic incentives for states to adopt more road safety laws.

“The emotional devastation inflicted on families from crashes also comes with a significant annual economic cost of $242 billion,” she said.

According to the latest numbers from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, the annual economic cost of road crashes averages $784 per U.S. citizen. In the Mountain West, annual costs range from $788 million in Wyoming to $4.173 billion in Colorado.

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUER in Salt Lake City, KUNR in Nevada, the O’Connor Center For the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, and KRCC and KUNC in Colorado.

Copyright 2021 KUNR Public Radio. To see more, visit KUNR Public Radio.

Noah Glick is from the small town of Auburn, Indiana and comes to KUNR from the Bay Area, where he spent his post-college years learning to ride his bike up huge hills. He’s always had a love for radio, but his true passion for public radio began when he discovered KQED in San Francisco. Along with a drive to discover the truth and a degree in Journalism from Ball State University, he hopes to bring a fresh perspective to local news coverage.

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