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

  • Innovative traffic information technology used in Vancouver
    April 12, 2012
    As the world descended on Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics, visitors were able to travel around the city with confidence and intelligence thanks to a landmark project by IRF Member, Delcan
  • Mainstreaming road safety in transportation projects: scaling up global commitment
    April 6, 2017
    In its latest policy statement, the International Road Federation affirmed the essential role of road safety audits and inspections It called on multilateral institutions to introduce qualitative benchmarks and capacity strengthening programs to ensure countries progress towards a safe and forgiving road system. Road safety audits and inspections are a formal safety performance examination of an existing or future road or intersection by an independent, multidisciplinary team. They qualitatively estim
  • Police in Nepal hold road safety event
    September 10, 2014
    Nepal’s road traffic policing is improving to help tackle safety – information provided by World Highways correspondent Ram Krishna Wagle The police in Nepal recently held a road safety exhibition, aimed at reducing the casualty rate on the country’s road network.
  • Car safety concern for Latin America
    April 19, 2016
    Vehicle safety in Latin America and the Caribbean nations has come into the spotlight. Research shows a high level of deaths and injuries from car crashes in these regions. Worryingly, there is concern that the types of vehicles sold in Latin America and the Caribbean do not benefit from the latest safety features. As a result, high levels of occupant injuries and deaths are being recorded. The New Car Assessment Program for Latin America and the Caribbean (Latin NCAP), Global New Car Assessment Program (Gl