Association releases report on road safety by state

Only Oregon and Washington met all criteria for roadway traffic safety in a new report from the Emergency Nurses Association.

According to a Nov. 17 press release, the report ranks state roadway laws based on 14 criteria, including safety belt use, child passenger safety, Graduated Driver Licensing for teens, ignition interlock devices to prevent drunk driving, and sending or reading messages for all drivers using cell phones or other wireless communication devices. Distracted driving laws were included for the first time in the 2010 report. Findings show:

• Four states – Minnesota, Arkansas, Louisiana and Wisconsin – are leading the way in making roads safer through legislation the Des Plaines, IL-based ENA's report found.
• Tennessee met all but one criterion.
• Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota received the lowest scores, meeting fewer than half of the criteria. North Dakota's score of 4 was the lowest of any state.

From our friends at the National Safety Council