Report: Arizona has second-worst traffic-safety laws in the nation

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http://cronkitenewsonline.com/2012/01/report-arizona-has-second-worst-traffic-safety-laws-in-the-nation/
Report: Arizona has second-worst traffic-safety laws in the nation
 By Stephanie Snyder Cronkite News
WASHINGTON _ Arizona got a failing grade Wednesday from a national highway safety group that said the state has adopted fewer than five of the 15 laws the group considers basic to traffic safety.
Only South Dakota ranked lower than Arizona in the ninth annual report from the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. It rated Arizona poorly for its failure to adopt strict laws on teen driving, seat belt and motorcycle helmet use, and distracted driving, among others.
Arizona has “some of the weakest laws and yet they’re surrounded by states that have better laws,” said Jacqueline Gillan, the group’s president. “This is really a call to action for Arizona to step up and start passing these laws.”
Her group said crashes killed more than 700 people in Arizona in 2010, at a cost estimated by state officials at $2.7 billion.
“It doesn’t make sense when you look at the economic cost and carnage on the Arizona highways that they are still ignoring some really effective public health interventions that could really bring down deaths and injuries and costs for the state,” Gillan said.
But state officials challenged the report, saying the laws it identified as crucial “aren’t going to help us.”
A report on the website of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety says traffic deaths in Arizona of unrestrained vehicle occupants, alcohol-impaired drivers, motorcyclists without helmets and teen drivers all fell from 2006-2009. This in a state that does not have the strict laws for enforcing seat-belt use, requiring motorcycle helmets and restricting teen drivers that the highway safety group says are needed.
“We are following what our indicators are and pushing to do safety programs to save and prevent tragedies,” said Alberto Gutier, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. “We don’t have to consult or react to anything the rest of the country does.”
Gutier said traffic deaths across the nation have fallen steadily in recent years. That trend is mirrored in Arizona, where the number of highway fatalities went from 1,293 in 2006 to 807 in 2009, according to both the state and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The number fell again to 762 in Arizona in 2010, according to the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety report.
Gutier and Gillan agreed that part of the decline has been driven by the poor economy, which made gas relatively more expensive and resulted in fewer drivers on the road.
But Gutier said there are other factors, noting that Arizona was one of five states to earn a five-star ranking from Mothers Against Drunk Driving in a report released in November. That ranking was based on drunken driving countermeasures, such as ignition interlocks and sobriety checkpoints.
“Law enforcement has done a fantastic job in Arizona,” of enforcing laws already on the books, Gutier said.
The report by Gillan’s group did score Arizona relatively well for its drunken driving laws, noting that the state had almost all of the recommended restrictions: a ban on open containers, a requirement for ignition-interlock devices for drunken drivers and stiffened penalties for drunken drivers who endanger children. The state only got half-credit for its law requiring blood-alcohol tests on drivers killed in crashes; the report prefers that those tests also be required on drivers who survive crashes in which someone is killed.
Gutier said his office plans to allocate the majority of its funding to preventing traffic fatalities.
“I’m questioning the whole ranking and the whole report,” he said.
Ray “Still Ray” Fitzgerald, chairman of the 7,000 members Arizona Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs, said it would be difficult for state lawmakers to require that all motorcyclists wear a helmet, which the report would prefer.
Fitzgerald, a motorcyclist of more than 40 years, said motorcycle-rights organizations like his support a “pro-choice” stance on helmets. The Prescott resident said he wears a helmet when it snows.
“I’m not against wearing helmets, I’m against being told that I have to,” Fitzgerald said.

http://ktar.com/6/1486608/Arizona-highway-safety-receives-mixed-reviews
Arizona highway safety receives mixed reviews

by Taylor Summers/KTAR (January 11th, 2012 @ 2:09pm) Policy >> Talk About It According to Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Arizona is one of the worst states in the country when it comes to driver safety laws.
Arizona ranks 49th on their study, only ranked ahead of South Dakota when it comes to the number of safe driving laws that are on the books. Jacqueline Gillan, the group's president, said that Arizona would save thousands of dollars and lives if they were to implement more driving laws. She added that, currently, Arizona police are not allowed to pull someone over for not having a booster seat, motorcycle helmet, or for texting while driving.
"Unfortunately many of the safety laws that would reduce deaths and injuries are simply not considered and urgent priority by our elected leaders," said Gillan.
Alberto Gutier, Director for the Governor's Office of Highway Safety said that Arizona deserves more credit than they were given.
"Our DUI enforcement is fantastic; we just finished an incredible year with law enforcement protecting people by arresting 23,000 DUI offenders in 2011," said Gutier. "We are second to none in highway safety enforcement."
The report goes on to claim that Arizona is lacking any sort of driver texting laws, but according to Gutier, the City of Phoenix wrote over 100 citations for texting and driving in 2011. He added that Arizona is working very hard on increasing their texting and driving laws, but new laws take time to go through the legislature and be put into place.
"It's very difficult to compare the numbers," he said. "While they're complaining that we are deficient, we are also receiving five star ratings from other organizations. So I'm not sure where they are coming from."
Mother Against Drunk Driving (MADD) recently gave Arizona, along with only four other states in the country, a five-star rating when it comes to DUI enforcement. To receive a five star rating a state must require the installation of an ignition interlock device for all DUI offenders, conduct sobriety checkpoints, have harsher penalties for those who are convicted of a DUI with a minor in the car, and confiscate the driver's license of those convicted of a DUI. MADD also ranked Arizona the eighth safest state for driving in 2010.
Arizona has recently seen a 46 percent decrease in drunk driving fatalities due to newly implemented programs, according to MADD