Utah Gets Graded On Road Safety Laws
Jan 11, 2021, 7:20 AM
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A new report from the organization Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety grades all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
A handful of states fell into the “Green” category, which means those states have a primary enforcement front seat belt law, a primary enforcement rear seat belt law, and an all-rider motorcycle helmet law.
Washington, Oregon, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York and D.C. were all graded as “Green.”
Utah falls into the “Yellow” category, based on how many laws the state has that the group believes will lead to safer roads and protect drivers, passengers and pedestrians.
“Yellow” states have two of the three occupant protection laws. In addition to Utah, Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Maine all fell into the “Yellow” category.
States with only one or none of the three laws are labeled “Red.”
They include Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut.
According to the report, Utah’s distracted driving laws are some of the best in the country. The impaired driving laws are also strict, which the group said leads to greater safety for the general population.
However, if the Beehive State wants to improve its road safety laws, it will need to pass an all-rider motorcycle helmet law as well as implement a law requiring rear-facing carseats for children through age 2.
When it comes to teen drivers, SafeRoads.org believe that Utah and multiple other states should push the permit age to 16 instead of 15 as well as have stronger supervised and nighttime restrictions.
The state should also strengthen passenger restrictions for young drivers and delay any unrestricted license until age 18, according to the report.
