FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - A new report puts Arizona near the bottom of the list when it comes to implementing a set of traffic laws the nonprofit calls life-saving.
The president of the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Cathy Chase, said, “these law address five issue areas including occupant protection, child passenger safety, teen driving protections, impaired driving and distracted driving.”
The report, called the 2018 Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws, states Arizona only has four of the 16 laws the nonprofit recommends, putting the state in the red category, “because they are dangerously behind in the adoption of optimal safety laws,” Chase said.
The director of the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, Alberto Gutier, disagreed.
“We’re a very highway safety state (sic),” Gutier said.
Gutier said Arizona’s enforcement against impaired driving is well known throughout the nation.
“We train officers here in Arizona from other states,” Gutier said.
When it comes to DUI laws, Arizona has some of the toughest in the country — this was one of only a few bright spots in the report.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Arizona saw 962 motor vehicle deaths in 2016, compared to only 51 in Rhode Island — a state with most of these safety laws in place. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in that same year, Arizona had a population at least six times greater than Rhode Island.
Arizona has a secondary enforcement belt use law, which allows law enforcement officers to cite violators only after drivers have first been stopped by another traffic violation. Gutier said numbers show the law was effective.
“Our rate of seatbelt use in Arizona has climbed steadily up to almost 88 percent,” Gutier said.
Rhode Island Department of Transportation spokesperson Charles St. Martin, told 12 News, since his state’s primary belt law was finalized in June 2013, seatbelt use, “went up 10 percentage points and is now at 88.7 percent.”
St. Martin issued the following statement on the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety’s recognition of Rhode Island as the state with the most recommended traffic safety laws:
It’s always an honor when our state is noted for its safety efforts. In the past 15 years our state legislators have worked diligently to create a safer roadway environment for all residents and visitors and this report reflects those dedicated efforts.
We accept this recognition with caution. Our fatalities tragically increased in 2017 to 84 – more than 30 more people than the previous year. That simply tells us that our vigilance to safety must remain high and intense.
Rhode Island enforces 13 of the 16 laws recommended by the nonprofit.