An advocacy group simply concluded a research into which of the states within the U.S. has the worst visitors legal guidelines, and palms down the reply was Missouri. Researchers say if the legal guidelines there don’t change, extra individuals will die on the state’s roads.
Advocates For Freeway & Auto Security carried out a research of visitors legal guidelines from state to state, the Kansas Metropolis Star studies. Cathy Chase, President for the Advocates For Freeway & Auto Security, advised the paper researchers checked out whether or not states had 18 completely different freeway legal guidelines confirmed to scale back crashes, save lives and cut back accidents. These included restrictions on new drivers, automotive seat necessities for youngsters and seat belts, and helmet legal guidelines. Missouri got here up final within the research. Of these 18 legal guidelines, the state had only one that was enacted, and even then the regulation isn’t precisely official, says the Star:
Missouri was thought of harmful as a result of it has solely one of many 18 legal guidelines on the books. And that single regulation — permitting purple mild cameras — was deemed invalid by the state Supreme Court docket. This implies since 2015, purple mild cameras have solely been operational in a single city: Hannibal, Missouri.
Missouri wants these legal guidelines. Roads everywhere in the state have been lethal all the yr. The Kansas Metropolis Star studies knowledge from the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Security reveals that from January via November of this yr, 854 individuals had been killed on Missouri roads in visitors associated accidents; 110 of these deaths had been in northwestern Jackson County, probably the most in all the state.
The 18 visitors legal guidelines Missouri is lacking are legal guidelines you suppose can be no brainers for officers to implement. They embrace texting whereas driving restrictions, booster seat necessities for youngsters, prohibiting youngsters beneath 13 from sitting within the entrance seat and helmet necessities for motorbike riders. Missouri at present requires a motorbike helmet for riders 25 and youthful. When you’re 26 or older and you’ve got medical health insurance, you don’t must put on a helmet whereas driving.
Options on what the state may do to make roads extra safer additionally reveals that it’s not simply lawless drivers who’re accountable for the lethal roads. Getting older infrastructure design performs an element on this as effectively.
Whereas altering driver conduct via stricter visitors legal guidelines is one a part of maintaining motorists secure, infrastructure strategies even have a big position in making crashes much less extreme. The Federal Freeway Administration suggests narrowing roads, utilizing velocity 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 research carried out utilizing knowledge from the NHTSA decided that Missouri ranked third in deadly freeway accidents. The state had a charge of 15.45 deaths per 100,000 individuals; for perspective, the nationwide common is 9.12 deaths per 100,000 individuals. Solely Wyoming and New Mexico had 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 first step is to get a superb regulation on the books. After which after that, to guarantee that there are educated regulation enforcement officers…to implement the visitors security legal guidelines,” Chase advised the Kansas Metropolis Star.
