States Receive Scores for Traffic Safety Laws

Oregon and Washington states ranked at the top of the Emergency Nurses Association’s (ENA) roadway safety scorecard. The report examines traffic safety laws in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and uses 13 criteria to score each. The criteria include laws on seat belt use, graduated driver licensing, motorcycle helmets, ignition interlocks and more. Oregon and Washington were the only states to receive the best possible score of 13. Arkansas scored only three points, and North Dakota and South Dakota each scored four points. When the ENA released its first national scorecard in 2006, Arizona ranked last. In the past two years, the state has shown significant progress and enacted five new safety laws. D.C. and 46 states, most recently Kentucky and South Dakota, have passed legislation that will allow them to develop and maintain statewide trauma systems. For more information, go to http://www.ena.org/ipinstitute/AutoSafety/scorecard/default.asp.

Source:  ENA news release, November 19, 2008

NETSWork is an e-newsletter published twice monthly (on the 1st and 15th) by the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS). NETSWork in its entirety is available only to NETS members. To receive NETSWork become a NETS member.