Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety calls for stronger road safety laws

The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates) is urging leaders at all levels of government to use available solutions to save lives, as 112 people are killed on U.S. roads every day.

In 2023, the most recent year with finalized statistics, 40,901 people were killed in crashes, and an additional 2.44 million were injured, according to Advocates’ “2026 Roadmap to Safety” report.

Preliminary numbers for 2024 remain historically high, with speeding, red light running, impaired driving, distractions, and not buckling up as contributing factors.

“The Roadmap to Safety is a call to action for our elected officials to address the ongoing crisis of motor vehicle crashes,” said Cathy Chase, Advocates president, in an Advocates press release. “It serves as a guide and a challenge to enact proven safety measures throughout the nation. With traffic fatalities 26% higher than their historic low point in 2011, and injuries 10% higher, state lawmakers and Congress must prioritize improving the safety of road users as they begin to shape their agendas for 2026 legislative sessions. It is go-time for safer roads.”

The report rates every state and Washington, D.C., in six categories: occupant protection, child passenger safety, young drivers, impaired driving, distracted driving, and automated enforcement to curb speed and red light running. An overall grade of “green,” “yellow,” and “red” is also given to reflect each state’s progress, or lack thereof, toward achieving the optimal laws and provisions.

No state meets all the criteria for improvement that are recommended in the report.

Maryland, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington State, and Washington, D.C. received the highest rating of green. Nine states are rated red for lagging dangerously behind in the adoption of Advocates’ recommended laws (Idaho, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming). The remaining 36 states are rated yellow, cautioning that improvement is needed.

The report notes that no state has enacted all 18 of Advocates’ optimal countermeasures. Based on Advocates’ safety recommendations, states across the nation need to adopt 534 countermeasures.

The report lists the following opportunities for state legislative improvement in 2026:

• • Fifteen states need an optimal primary enforcement seatbelt law for front seat passengers;
  • Twenty-nine states need an optimal primary enforcement seatbelt law for rear seat passengers;
  • Thirty-three states need an optimal all-rider motorcycle helmet law;
  • Twenty-five states need a rear-facing child passenger safety law through age 2 or older;
  • Thirty-six states and D.C. need an optimal booster seat law; and
  • Forty-five states and D.C. need a law for an optimal rear seat requirement through age 12.

It also states that 187 graduated driver licensing (GDL) laws need to be adopted to ensure the safety of novice drivers, and 32 critical impaired driving laws are necessary in 28 states.

“Teen and young adult novice drivers are more likely to be involved in fatal crashes because they lack driving experience and tend to take greater risks,” said Chris Olson, University of Arizona chief of police and 2026 Advocates consumer co-chair, in the release. “As a former motorcycle officer, I also want to focus on the need for all riders to wear helmets. The good news is that we can work to address those issues. The solutions outlined in this report are proven to reduce the risk of fatalities and injuries. We must get going on them.”

Additionally:

• • Five states need an optimal all-driver text messaging restriction;
  • Twenty-four states need a GDL cell phone restriction;
  • Twenty-seven states need to permit red light cameras by law;
  • Twenty-eight states do not have red light cameras in use;
  • Twenty-one states need to permit automated speed enforcement by law; and
  • Twenty-five states do not have automated speed enforcement in use.

  “My son, Christopher King, was just 18 years old when he was killed in a car crash — the one time he didn’t buckle up,” said Christy King, of the Christopher King Foundation, in the release. “This year, the Christopher King Seat Belt Law (HB 2475) passed and took effect July 1, requiring all vehicle occupants, regardless of seating position, to wear a seat belt in Virginia. This was the first change in Virginia’s adult seat belt law since 1988. Seat belts are the first line of defense in a crash, and in 2023, nearly half of passenger vehicle occupant fatalities were unrestrained. I encourage state legislators to read this report and enact solutions to save lives.”

  Vickie Brown, with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, added, “After a drunk driver killed my son Darius, I made a promise to do everything I could to prevent other families from living this nightmare. This report card gives every state a clear roadmap to fill dangerous gaps in their traffic safety laws. Drunk driving crashes are 100% preventable, and these road-tested laws will save many lives. I’m here to urge lawmakers to act now because every life saved means one less family living with this pain.”

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