None of the 50 states deserves an A grade for its overall safety policies, a new report from the National Safety Council concluded. But seven states drew an overall B grade from the council for their efforts in preventing injury and death on roads, in the home and community, and at the workplace.
The states that earned an overall B grade from the National Safety Council (NSC) are California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Oregon, and Washington. Washington D.C., also warranted a B, according to the NSC’s “State of Safety” report.
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Overall safety grades for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. (These grades take into account policies that promote safety on roads, at home and in the community, and at the workplace.)
In the category of road safety, the report’s top five performers are Illinois, Louisiana, Washington D.C., Delaware a,nd Maine. The bottom five states in this category are Wyoming, Arizona, Missouri, South Dakota, and Montana.
An estimated 40,200 people died on U.S. roads in 2016, making motor vehicle crashes a leading cause of unintentional death in the U.S. — second only to drug overdoses.
To judge each state’s efforts to promote road safety, NSC looked at policy and legislation related to a wide range of risk factors. These factors included fatigue, alcohol use, seat belt use, speeding, and distraction. Also considered were laws about child passengers, teen drivers, drivers 65 and older, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians.
The report stressed that states have a major role to play in ensuring safe roads.
“A comprehensive road safety approach that integrates laws, enforcement, and driver education can shift culture over time so safety becomes the norm, and safe behaviors become customary,” the report said.
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While judging efforts to prevent alcohol-impaired driving, NSC gave the lowest grades to both Montana and Michigan. This subcategory’s criteria included the presence of a state sobriety checkpoint program, ignition interlock requirements for all first-time and repeat DUI offenders, administrative 90-plus-day license revocation for drivers who test above .08 blood alcohol content or who refuse the test, and a ban on open containers for drivers and passengers.
The report found only four states — California, Texas, Louisiana, and New Jersey — to be “on track” with their seat belt policy. All other states lagged behind. The NSC advocates for primary-enforcement seat belt laws that cover all occupants and seating positions.
The worst performers in the fight against distracted driving, according to the report, are Montana, Arizona, Missouri, and Florida. The NSC evaluated states based on whether they have a total ban on cell phone use for teens and novice drivers and a texting ban for all drivers.
In the report’s evaluation of state efforts to prevent dangerous vehicle speeds, the winners are Iowa and Illinois. Additionally, California is the leading state in the regulation of teen drivers, and Oregon is the leader in protecting motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Oklahoma and Tennessee are the leaders in protecting child passengers, according to the report.
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