When Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety released their seventh annual Report Card on Highway Safety this year, Arizonians certainly got a shock. Even with Arizona's harsh DUI laws and increased efforts by law enforcers, the Grand Canyon state is still ranked as the second worst state for traffic safety, according to Advocates' press release.
Just behind the state of South Dakota, Arizona can be seen as very dangerous for drivers. But what exactly makes Arizona highway safety ranked so terribly? Advocates only gave Arizona credit for 4.5 laws out of the recommended 15 laws that the agency feels are necessary for the roads to be safe.
According to Advocates, the state of Arizona has no law that requires mandatory blood-alcohol testing for drivers involved in accidents where there is a fatality. The state also does not require motorcyclists to wear helmets nor does the state require young children to sit in booster seats. But perhaps, the main reason why Arizona is ranked so low on the charts is because Arizona does not have strict teen driving provisions. Six out of the seven recommended teen driving Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws are not mandated in Arizona.
But even with low rankings from Advocates, many officials see that the state's highway safety has actually improved. The Report Card did not consider lower fatality rates when grading the states, yet Arizona may have ranked pretty high in this category if fatality rates were considered. The Arizona Department of Public Safety announced earlier this year that highway deaths in the Grand Canyon state have decreased nearly 50 percent from 2006 to 2009.
Related Resources:
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Driving Safety (FindLaw)
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Arizona DUI Law (FindLaw)
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Arizona DUI Attorney Directory (FindLaw)
