An advocacy group simply concluded a examine into which of the states within the U.S. has the worst visitors legal guidelines, and fingers down the reply was Missouri. Researchers say if the legal guidelines there don’t change, extra folks will die on the state’s roads.
Advocates For Freeway & Auto Security performed a examine of visitors legal guidelines from state to state, the Kansas Metropolis Star stories. Cathy Chase, President for the Advocates For Freeway & Auto Security, informed the paper researchers checked out whether or not states had 18 totally different freeway legal guidelines confirmed to scale back crashes, save lives and scale back accidents. These included restrictions on new drivers, automobile seat necessities for youngsters and seat belts, and helmet legal guidelines. Missouri got here up final within the examine. Of these 18 legal guidelines, the state had only one that was enacted, and even then the legislation isn’t precisely official, says the Star:
Missouri was thought-about harmful as a result of it has solely one of many 18 legal guidelines on the books. And that single legislation — permitting crimson gentle cameras — was deemed invalid by the state Supreme Courtroom. This implies since 2015, crimson gentle cameras have solely been operational in a single city: Hannibal, Missouri.
Missouri wants these legal guidelines. Roads all around the state have been lethal your complete 12 months. The Kansas Metropolis Star stories knowledge from the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Security reveals that from January by means of November of this 12 months, 854 folks have been killed on Missouri roads in visitors associated accidents; 110 of these deaths have been in northwestern Jackson County, essentially the most in your complete state.
The 18 visitors legal guidelines Missouri is lacking are legal guidelines you assume could be no brainers for officers to implement. They embody texting whereas driving restrictions, booster seat necessities for youngsters, prohibiting children below 13 from sitting within the entrance seat and helmet necessities for bike riders. Missouri at the moment requires a motorbike helmet for riders 25 and youthful. In the event you’re 26 or older and you’ve got medical insurance, you don’t should put on a helmet whereas driving.
Ideas on what the state may do to make roads extra safer additionally reveals that it’s not simply lawless drivers who’re responsible for the lethal roads. Growing older infrastructure design performs a component on this as properly.
Whereas altering driver habits by means of stricter visitors legal guidelines is one a part of preserving motorists secure, infrastructure methods even have a big position in making crashes much less extreme. The Federal Freeway Administration suggests narrowing roads, utilizing pace bumps and rising visibility to make human errors much less catastrophic. In June, Kansas Metropolis officers promised $4 million to visitors calming efforts across the metropolis.
Missouri is as lethal as they’re saying however solely to a sure level, which isn’t something to brag about. A examine achieved utilizing knowledge from the NHTSA decided that Missouri ranked third in deadly freeway accidents. The state had a price of 15.45 deaths per 100,000 folks; for perspective, the nationwide common is 9.12 deaths per 100,000 folks. Solely Wyoming and New Mexico have been deadlier, with the states taking the one and two spots.
Cathy Chase says that the state must make a change, and step one is definitely getting the legal guidelines on the books and ensuring they’re enforced. “The 1st step is to get legislation on the books. After which after that, to guarantee that there are educated legislation enforcement officers…to implement the visitors security legal guidelines,” Chase informed the Kansas Metropolis Star.
