NTSB Seeks More State Adoption of Most Wanted Safety Items
At a recent press conference, National Transportation Safety Board members reviewed the past year's progress in getting states to enact safety legislation called for in its Most Wanted List of safety improvement. Although there were some modest gains in the past year, NTSB said much more needs to be accomplished before any of the items can be removed from the list.
"Well over 90 percent of the nation's transportation fatalities occur on our roads," said Mark V. Rosenker, NTSB acting chairman. "Enactment of life-saving highway legislation is best done at the state level, and that is why we place so much emphasis on recommendations to state governments. We are particularly mindful of these recommendations as we enter the heavy holiday travel season."
In addition to the highway issues, recommendations aimed at reducing fatalities on our nation's recreational waterways are also on the Most Wanted List.
Rosenker noted that five states--Arizona, Arkansas, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota--have adopted the fewest number of Most Wanted items. In contrast, four states have adopted more elements on the Most Wanted List than any others--New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington--however, "New Jersey and Tennessee have not shown the same level of leadership when it comes to implementing elements of the board's model program to reduce hard core drinking driving," he said. "I challenge the governors of those states to close this gap in the coming year."
Maps and tables providing state-by-state details for each of the recommendations can be found here.