Road laws are lagging behind. Traffic safety in Alberta is worrying

Road laws are lagging behind. Traffic safety concerns in Alberta Although Arizona passed a new traffic safety law last year requiring booster car seats for older children...

Road laws are lagging behind and traffic safety in Alberta is worrying. Although Arizona passed a new traffic safety law last year that requires booster car seats for older children, Arizona's road safety laws are still one of the six worst states in the country, according to the annual Highway and Auto Safety report released recently. The report, produced by a consumer health and safety advocacy group that includes insurance companies, looked at safety assessments based on 15 state road safety laws based on 15 priority traffic safety laws, including seat belts, distracted driving, drunk driving, teen licenses and motorcycle helmets. The first is seat belts and motorcycle helmets, where 15 states failed. There are 32 states in the United States that have implemented mandatory seat belt laws, and 19 states require motorcycle riders to wear helmets, but Arizona has neither law. Seat belt enforcement laws include that if the police find a driver who is not wearing a seat belt, or a front-seat passenger in a car who is not wearing a seat belt, the police have the right to issue verbal warnings, traffic fines, and enforcement requirements. There is also a seat belt law, which means the police will incidentally punish drivers for not wearing seat belts when they violate other traffic laws. This state falls into the latter category. According to the appeals report, 233 people in the state escaped crashes in 2011 because they were wearing seat belts, and 97 others, the report said, could have saved their lives if they had worn seat belts. The report said that between 2006 and 2011, 891 Arizona drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 were killed in car accidents. Young people in this age group may use an Arizona driver's license Class G, which includes certain restrictions. None of the states listed in the report have strict requirements for teenage driver's licenses, and surprisingly, Alberta passes the mark on this aspect. Last year, the state proposed banning Class G license holders from using mobile phones to send and receive text messages while driving. The bill passed the Senate but stalled in the House of Representatives. The report gave high marks to the state's drunk driving laws, which allow traffic police to conduct mandatory breathalyzer tests on drivers with open bottles of alcohol in their vehicles and to remove children from the vehicle. Except for Arizona, only nine states in the country have similar laws.