Seat Belts

Governor Kay Ivey has awarded more than $7.6 million to enhance highway safety in Alabama and reduce the number of reckless drivers on the state’s roads. The grants provided to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) and the state’s traffic safety regions covering all 67 counties will help fund major highway safety campaigns including “Click It or Ticket” and “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” The funds will also enable law enforcement agencies to increase traffic patrols in areas with high crash rates and other traffic violations.

The Governors Highway Safety Association and data mining firm Michelin Mobility Intelligence recently provided a total of $300,000 in grants to three states to fund advanced traffic safety data collection and analysis to help make roads safer. “Data underpins every decision we make in traffic safety. Too often, however, roadway safety professionals are reacting to old, outdated information,” said Jonathan Adkins, GHSA’s chief executive officer in a statement.

The Biden administration plans to require that all new cars and trucks come with pedestrian-collision avoidance systems that include automatic emergency braking technology by the end of the decade. In an interview, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the requirement is designed to reduce pedestrian deaths, which have been on the rise in the post-Covid 19 era.

NBC News

Story by Rob Wile and Tom Costello
April 29, 2024

In Montana, Native Americans comprise 6.2% of the population but account for approximately 17% of the state’s motor vehicle crash deaths each year. A closer look at the data reveal that Native American drivers 20 years of age and younger are involved in 30% of these fatal crashes. To tackle this issue, the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) developed the "Safe On All Roads" (SOAR) traffic safety program, which is managed by coordinators living in Tribal communities.

GHSA's Annual Report highlights the Association's accomplishments for the 2023 Fiscal Year (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023).

In a press release, the Governors Highway Safety Association noted that “requiring seat belt audio and visual alerts for all passengers — as current regulations require for drivers — will encourage more people to take the simple, life-saving action of buckling up. While this is a positive step, it will take years for this technology to be present in all vehicles.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today announced a new proposed rule to require front and rear seat belt warning systems for drivers in most new vehicles manufactured in the United States.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today announced a new proposed rule to require front and rear seat belt warning systems for drivers in most new vehicles manufactured in the United States. This proposed rulemaking, which was first announced at a GHSA Annual Meeting more than a decade ago, is a long overdue expansion of lifesaving vehicle technology that will help supplement ongoing efforts by State Highway Safety Offices and the traffic safety community to ensure everyone in every vehicle is buckled up.

Earlier this year, the Governors Highway Safety Association noted a spike in pedestrian deaths, calling it particularly concerning and a “safety crisis on our roads.”

Jonathan Adkins, chief executive of the Governors Highway Safety Association, called the deaths, “heartbreaking, unacceptable and preventable.” “We will not accept such incremental safety progress after two years of escalating deaths and more dangerous driving on U.S. roads,” he said in a statement.