Vehicle Fatalities Are On The Rise
According to the National Safety Council motor vehicle fatality estimates, 20016 may have been the deadliest year on the USA roads since 2007. Estimated cost to society was $432.5 billion, including wage and productivity losses, medical and administrative expenses, employer costs and property damage.
As a result of NSC driver safety public opinion poll released last month, NSC is calling for immediate implementation of life-saving measures that would set the nation on a road to zero deaths:
- Mandate ignition interlocks for convicted drunk drivers and better education about the nature of impairment and when it begins
- Install and use automated enforcement techniques to catch speeders
- Extend laws banning all cell phone use – including hands-free – to all drivers, not just teens; upgrade enforcement from secondary to primary in states with existing bans
- Upgrade seat belt laws from secondary to primary enforcement and extend restraint laws to every passenger in every seating position in all kinds of vehicles
- Adopt a three-tiered licensing system for all new drivers under 21 – not just those under 18
- Standardize and accelerate into the fleet automotive safety technologies with life-saving potential, including blind-spot monitoring, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning and adaptive headlights
- Pass or reinstate motorcycle helmet laws
- Adopt comprehensive programs for pedestrian safety
Original Source: https://www.nsc.org/learn/NSC-Initiatives/Pages/Fatality-Estimates.aspx
