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