Washington – The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety on Jan. 11 released its ninth annual state legislative report card, which grades the performance of all 50 states and the District of Columbia on adopting 15 recommended traffic safety laws.
The report found the following recommended laws were enacted in 2011:
- Primary enforcement of safety belts – Rhode Island
- Booster seats requirements for children 4-7 years old – California and Georgia
- Graduated Driver Licensing laws for teens – New Mexico (optimal cell phone restriction), North Carolina (supervised driving), North Dakota (nighttime and optimal cell phone restrictions), and Pennsylvania (passenger restriction)
- Impaired driving ignition interlock laws – Connecticut and Kansas
- Complete bans on texting while driving – Indiana, Maine, Nevada, New York, North Dakota and Pennsylvania
The report found that 17 states and the District of Columbia were rated as “good” for meeting the Advocates’ recommendations – although no state met all 15 in 2011 – and eight states were rated “dangerously behind” on adopting the group’s recommendations.
