Skip to main content

US road safety suggestions

The US needs to up its game on road safety, which a new report can help with, providing key steps state governors can take to help reduce road crash risks. The report has been published by the National Governors Association (NGA) and is titled, “State Strategies to Reduce Highway and Traffic Fatalities and Injuries: A Road Map for States.” The publication emphasises the key role of governors in improving road safety. It suggests ways to improve coordination and strengthen existing efforts across state
February 12, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

The US needs to up its game on road safety, which a new report can help with, providing key steps state governors can take to help reduce road crash risks.

The report has been published by the National Governors Association (NGA) and is titled, “State Strategies to Reduce Highway and Traffic Fatalities and Injuries: A Road Map for States.” The publication emphasises the key role of governors in improving road safety. It suggests ways to improve coordination and strengthen existing efforts across state agencies.

“This project elevates the profile of traffic safety and provides concrete recommendations that have tremendous potential to improve safety outcomes,” said Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) that assisted in the development of the report. “Governors are uniquely positioned to provide leadership on highway safety and foster statewide collaboration among other various agencies, including state highway safety offices. GHSA is glad to support this new report and looks forward to continuing to work with NGA and the safety community to achieve zero traffic fatalities on our roadways.”

Improvements in road safety are sorely needed in the US, which compares poorly with other developed nations in this respect. More worryingly still, there has been a reversal of the steady gains in road safety seen over decades. In 2016, 37,461 people were killed on America’s roads, a 5.6% increase over the previous year. And 39 US states reported an increase in traffic fatalities in 2016.

According to the GHSA, the report will help states to identify and deploy proven countermeasures to reduce crashes and injuries. The report provides key steps that governors can take to improve coordination and strengthen existing efforts across state agencies and identifies recent state efforts to adopt strategies to reduce traffic fatalities. The road map is designed as a policy development tool, allowing a state to use all or portions of the road map as it applies to their unique situation.

Related Content

  • Enhancing policy and action for a safe mobility
    April 12, 2022
    Safe Mobility remains a “hard to abate” challenge especially when it comes to road safety. Road crashes result in an estimated 1.35 million deaths and 50 million injuries worldwide/year.
  • Safety advice for poor weather driving
    December 11, 2013
    Winter driving advice is being provided by the Finnish Vaisala transport research group. According to Vaisala, the driver plays a particularly important role in safety with regard to winter conditions. Driving safely in the winter is not only about road maintenance services and the condition of the road. Driver behaviour, speed, and driving style as well as the condition of the vehicle and its tyres play an important role in ensuring a safe journey. For example, awareness of significantly longer stopping di
  • Bipartisan bill passes key stage in the US
    August 11, 2021
    A key bipartisan bill for transport development has passed a key stage in the US.
  • Safety gains have been seen on Italy’s roads
    November 14, 2012
    The latest official data shows an improvement in Italy’s road safety statistics. During 2011 the statistics reveal a 2.7% drop in road accidents compared with the previous year. The data showed a 5.6% fall in fatalities in 2011 compared with the previous year, as well as a 3.5% drop in road crashes causing injuries. The total number of road accidents reported stood at 205,638, causing 292,019 injuries and 3,860 fatalities. However, a worrying trend revealed that the number of fatalities and serious injuries