On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) joined Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and other safety leaders to release the 2023 Roadmap to Safety report outlining ways to reduce deaths and injuries on U.S. roads.
The advocates hope the report will serve as a guide for state legislatures, Congress, and the U.S. Department of Transportation when reversing the nation’s skyrocketing roadway traffic fatality and injury rate.
According to the group, on average, more than 115 people died on America’s roads every day in 2021. Speeding, impaired driving, and failure to use seat belts are among the causes of those deaths, the group said. Statistics show that traffic fatalities have increased by 19 percent since before the pandemic and that deaths among pedestrians and bicyclists have increased 62 percent in the last decade.
“In 2019 and again in 2022, the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, which I chair, held hearings on roadway safety to discuss what actions Congress should take to save lives, what countermeasures and strategies are working, and where we are falling short,” Holmes said. “We heard clearly what is not working – for too long, we have accepted preventable traffic deaths as inevitable, prioritized speed over safety, and focused solely on moving cars quickly… Last November, Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the largest long-term investment in national infrastructure in nearly a century, and it will help us build a safer, cleaner, and more equitable transportation system.”
The 20th edition of the report outlines 16 countermeasures to make roads safer, primarily through legislation. Additionally, it rates states for their progress in achieving safer roads through legislation on occupant protection, child passenger safety, teen driving, impaired driving, distracted driving, and automated enforcement to curb speed. Five states – Louisiana, Maryland, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington – received green ratings, while nine – Florida, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming – received red ratings for lagging in adopting the recommended laws.