Peach Tree Times

The lights are flashing yellow for caution in Georgia, according to a report from a national highway and automobile safety organization.

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (AHAS) ranked the Peach State ”yellow,” saying traffic reforms are needed, in its 19th annual edition of the Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws, which was released in January. The report calls on the U.S. Department of Transportation and state governments to put the brakes on dangerous driving across the country.

“During the first six months of 2021, more than 20,000 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes, the most during this time period since 2006,” the report states. “This represents a nearly 20% increase in deaths over the same period in 2020 and is the largest such spike ever recorded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System.”

On average, 100 people die every day on U.S. roads. According to AHAS, 1,491 people died in crashes in Georgia in 2019, and 13,533 were killed from 2010-19. The annual cost of motor vehicle crashes is $13.022 billion, the report states.

According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, 1,824 people died on state roads in 2021. About 57% were not wearing seat belts, and many weren’t even in vehicles, as 17.1% of fatalities involved pedestrians.

Reckless driving is at the heart of the problem, according to the state agency, as 70% of fatal crashes “are caused by unsafe driving behaviors, including distractions, impairment or driving too fast for conditions. This includes all angle, rear-end collisions, head-on [crashes], along with failure-to-stop collisions.”

The DOT asks drivers to buckle up, stay off electronic devices and remain alert behind the wheel.

“Many deaths are due to preventable crashes," according to the department's website. "Change your driving behavior. Distracted driving is a primary factor in many fatalities. So are impaired driving, driving too fast for conditions and failure to wear a seat belt. Take responsibility to protect yourself, your passengers, other motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. Follow these steps every time you get behind the wheel.”

The AHAS offered 16 optimal laws for states to adopt to make roads safer. The report details ways to increase occupant protection, child passenger safety, assist novice teen and young adult drivers, and reduce impaired driving and distracted driving.

The AHAS recommends Georgia pass the following traffic laws to reduce fatalities and increase safety:

• Primary enforcement seat belt law for back seat passengers.
• Rear-facing seats for children through age 2.
• Minimum age 16 for a learner’s permit.
• Requiring 50 hours of supervised driving before issuing a permit to young drivers.
• Stronger nighttime restriction for young drivers.
• Stronger passenger restrictions for young drivers.
• Age 18 for unrestricted license.
• Ignition interlocks for all offenders.

The state already has these safety laws in place, according to the AHAS:

• Primary enforcement seat belt law for front-seat passengers.
• An all-rider helmet requirement on motorcycles.
• A booster seat law.
• Child endangerment law.
• Six-month holding period provision for young drivers.
• Open container law.
• All-driver text messaging restriction.

The report gives every state and Washington, D.C., a rating based on the five categories of occupant protection: child passenger safety, teen driving, impaired driving and distracted driving. It also provides an overall grade of “green,” “yellow” or “red” based on each state's progress in enacting the recommended 16 laws.

Seven states, Rhode Island, Washington, Delaware, Maine, Oregon, California and Louisiana, received green, the highest score, while 31 states received yellow ratings.

Eleven states, including Missouri, Wyoming, Montana, Arizona, Florida, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Vermont, Virginia and South Dakota, were given the lowest rating of red.

A poll conducted for the AHAS found that although most people are unaware of how dangerous and deadly U.S. roads are, they want to reduce speeding, distracted driving, impaired driving and lack of seat belt use.

Alan Maness, vice president of federal affairs and counsel for State Farm Insurance, serves as insurance co-chair of the AHAS. He said enacting the 16 recommended laws will save lives.

“With crash fatalities reaching levels not experienced in nearly 15 years, [the] release of Advocates’ Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws could not be timelier,” Maness said. “During the 33 years this unique coalition has existed, it has been working consistently and conscientiously to advance common-sense policies that produce safe vehicles, safe roads and safe road users. While many life-saving advances have been achieved preventing untold numbers of crashes, fatalities and injuries, we are currently facing an alarming upward trend in traffic fatalities over the past two years.” 

Cathy Chase, president of the AHAS, said immediate action is needed to stem the tide of roadway deaths. 

“The new public opinion poll we commissioned found that nearly 75% were not aware of the drastic jump in traffic fatalities during the first six months of 2021," Chase said. "Still, 66% of respondents said not enough is being done to address dangerous roadway behaviors. These findings emphasize the need for progress on traffic safety laws at the state level and swift action at the U.S. Department of Transportation to implement the safety provisions in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. 

“The IIJA took essential steps forward for vehicle safety that the DOT should consider as a ‘floor’ for what must be achieved, not a ‘ceiling,’” Chase added. “We have proven solutions at hand. We need our nation’s leaders to step up and implement them with urgency.”

The AHAS says that although no state has enacted all 16 of its recommended laws, they can make progress. It said a total of 390 laws need to be passed by state governments to reduce the number of deaths and serious crashes, including:

• Sixteen states need an optimal primary enforcement seat belt law for front-seat passengers.
• Thirty states need an optimal primary enforcement seat belt law for rear-seat passengers.
• Thirty-two states need an optimal all-rider motorcycle helmet law.
• Thirty-four states need a rear-facing through age 2 law.
• Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia need an optimal booster-seat law.
• There are 189 GDL laws that need to be adopted to ensure the safety of novice drivers, no state meets all the criteria recommended in this report.
• Twenty-nine critical impaired driving laws are needed in 27 states.
• Four states need an optimal all-driver text messaging restriction.
• Nineteen states need a GDL cellphone restriction.

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, founded in 1989, is an alliance of public health, safety, consumer and law enforcement organizations, insurers and insurance agents that promotes highway and auto safety through the adoption of safety laws, policies and regulations.