The number of pedestrian, cyclist and driver fatalities nationwide dropped slightly in the first half of 2024, following a peak in 2021. However, experts argue that states, particularly those in the Mountain West, should do more to improve road safety.
According to the latest annual report from the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, four of the nine states with the weakest road safety laws are the Mountain West region: Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Wyoming.
“Indicating that they are significantly lacking in the adoption of the recommended life-saving laws,” said Jack Gillis, the former executive director and CEO of the Consumer Federation of America and a board chair for the road safety advocacy group. He spoke during a December press conference about the report’s release.
The organization places those four states in the “red” category for failing to adopt stronger seatbelt laws, rules for child passengers and automated speed and red-light detection systems. Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico are in the “yellow” category, and none of the Mountain West states are in the “green” group, which represents those with the top safety measures.
The report identifies speeding, distracted driving, running red lights and not buckling up as major contributors to traffic crashes and fatalities. Though some state laws addressing these hazards have passed in recent legislation sessions, these efforts should continue, said Cathy Chase, the president of the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, as they are “urgently needed.”
One state in the region, Colorado, is expanding efforts to combat distracted driving. While texting while driving was already banned, starting Jan. 1, using a phone at all while driving is a crime. The penalty for a first offense is a $75 fine and two license suspension points, with exceptions for hands-free technology like Bluetooth and for emergencies.
Colorado joins 29 other states with “hands-free” laws as of Jan. 1, including Idaho, Nevada and Arizona. However, Colorado’s law doesn’t go as far as others, as law enforcement can only pull over drivers if their phone use is impairing their driving.
Although hands-free laws have been shown to reduce distracted driving crashes, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety cautions the laws don’t fully eliminate distractions.
Lieutenant Colonel Joshua Downing of the Colorado State Patrol, who spoke at the advocacy group’s press conference, was asked about additional measures his state could take to improve road safety. He suggested increasing seat belt enforcement — under current law, not wearing a seat belt is not a traffic violation by itself; a driver can only be cited for not wearing a seat belt if they are stopped for another traffic violation, such as speeding.
“We could require more people to wear seat belts and buckle up and that would save lives for sure,” Downing said.
He pointed out that about 40% of traffic fatalities in Colorado involve people who are not wearing seat belts.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio (KNPR) in Las Vegas, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
