Skip to main content

Americans want more action and enforcement to improve highway safety

At a time when there is intense debate about the role of government, a majority of Americans support additional laws and want more action by government officials to improve highway safety, a new survey released yesterday by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety claims.
May 16, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
At a time when there is intense debate about the role of government, a majority of Americans support additional laws and want more action by government officials to improve highway safety, a new survey released yesterday by the 477 AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety claims.

"Despite shrinking federal and state transportation budgets and a public debate over the most appropriate role of government, it's clear that a majority of Americans want government officials to do more – not less – about highway safety," said 4939 AAA president and CEO Bob Darbelnet. "From passing and enforcing laws about teen drivers and distracted driving to programmes that improve the safety of our roadways and add safety equipment to vehicles, there are many steps government can take to reduce crashes, injuries, and deaths in the US."

The survey was released just ahead of the United Nations' official launch of the 'Decade of Action for Road Safety' campaign, which aims to stabilise and then reduce global road deaths by 2020. Major economies of the G20, including the United States as well as leading developing countries and public institutions like the  2000 World Bank and the 1819 World Health Organisation, have all endorsed the Decade of Action.

"At a time when more and more U.S. highway safety agencies are adopting "Toward Zero Death" goals, it is very heartening to see motorist support for more, not less action by government to make our roads safer," added J. Peter Kissinger, president of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, that commissioned this survey.

The survey shows that a majority of Americans are in agreement that the US needs more laws to prevent people from doing dangerous things while driving; that their respective state government needs to do more to make their roads safer;  that all new drivers should be required to complete a driver education course before they can get a driver's license; that both auto manufacturers and the federal government need to do more to make cars safer; while 70 per cent of Americans agree that driving safety laws should be enforced more strictly with only six per cent disagreeing.

Full details of the survey are available at %$Linker: External 0 0 0 oLinkExternal www.AAAFoundation.org. AAAFoundation false http://aaafoundation.org./ false false%>

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Highways England highlights enforcement business
    April 16, 2019
    Enforcement policies need to start focusing much harder on business users, says a new initiative from Highways England. Geoff Hadwick reports on what this could mean for cutting work-related injuries and incidents
  • Report analyses effects of non-drivers on self-driving cars
    December 7, 2015
    The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute has published a new report which analyses the expected changes in the amount of driving and trip-length distributions by personal vehicles, should completely self-driving vehicles become widely available. The analysis is based on two key observations: the large percentage of young adults between 18 and 39 years of age who currently do not have a driver’s licence; a recent survey which provides information about the reasons for not having a driv
  • UK govt seeks cycle safety evidence as report calls for new laws
    March 13, 2018
    A report from legal expert Laura Thomas has claimed that there is a strong case for changing the law to combat dangerous cycling, which if implemented, would bring offences in line with dangerous driving. It ties in with the Department for Transport's Call for Evidence, which is seeking to address issues that cyclists and pedestrians face, or perceive when using the road infrastructure. Thomas said: “Overall, in my opinion, the present law on cycling is not sufficient. I suggest that an offence comprising
  • UK Cyclists, pedestrians and equestrians need roads with them in mind
    January 12, 2018
    Cyclists, pedestrians and equestrians would prefer improvements on Highways England's (HE's) road network to be open to all types of user – but safely, with areas of greater risk identified and appropriate interventions made, according to a new report from Transport Focus (TF). The independent watchdog engaged with these road users across the UK who stressed the importance of the network in affecting their everyday lives. Key findings showed that safety is of crucial importance to all three groups when