Transportation | MAY 2018 Trafc Safety Trends State Legislative Action 2017 Trafc Safety Trends State Legislative Action 2017 BY AMANDA ESSEX, DOUGLAS SHINKLE, AMANDA MILLER AND KEVIN PULA iii NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................1 Aggressive Drivers ............................................................................30 Federal Traffic Safety Update ............................................................3 Automated Enforcement .................................................................31 Occupant Protection ..........................................................................4 Motorcyclist Safety ...........................................................................33 Child Passenger Protection ........................................................6 Motorcycle Helmets .................................................................34 Smoking in Cars with Children ...................................................8 Motorcycle Licensing, Safety and Education ..........................34 Impaired Driving .................................................................................8 Motorcycle and Ignition Interlocks..........................................35 High BAC ...................................................................................10 Motorcycle Operation and Equipment ...................................35 Ignition Interlock Requirements ..............................................10 Autocycles .................................................................................36 Ignition Interlock Compliance Laws ........................................12 School Bus Safety .............................................................................37 Implied Consent, Blood Alcohol Testing and Test Refusals ....14 Seat Belts on School Buses ......................................................37 Enhanced Criminal Penalties for Repeat Offenders ...............14 Illegal Passing of School Buses .................................................38 Treatment Programs & 24/7 Sobriety Programs ....................15 School Bus Drivers ....................................................................39 Other 2017 Impaired Driving Legislation ................................16 Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety ........................................................40 Utah Enacts First in the Nation .05 BAC Limit .........................16 Idaho Stop Law .........................................................................40 Drugged Driving ................................................................................16 Safe Bicycle Passing ..................................................................41 Distracted Driving..............................................................................20 Trails and Bicyclist Safety Task Forces .....................................41 Teen Drivers.......................................................................................23 2017 State Electric Bicycle Laws ..............................................42 Graduated Driver’s Licensing ...................................................24 Pedestrian Safety ......................................................................44 Driver’s Education ....................................................................24 Vulnerable Users ......................................................................44 Distraction and Young Drivers .................................................24 School Bicyclist and Pedestrian Safety ....................................45 Traffic Stop Education ..............................................................25 Slow and Medium Speed Vehicles ..................................................45 Older Drivers .....................................................................................26 Golf Carts .................................................................................. 45 Driver Licensing ................................................................................27 Mopeds .....................................................................................46 License Suspensions, Revocations and Reinstatements ........27 Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS) Replaces the Medical Designations on Driver’s Licenses .............................28 National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) Driver’s Test and Educational Requirements ..........................28 General Estimates System (GES) .....................................................46 Speeding and Speed Limits ..............................................................29 Tables and Figures Table 1 Seat Belt Use Rates by States and Territories ................................................................4 Table 2 Alcohol-Impaired Traffic Fatalities, 2016 .......................................................................8 Figure 1 States Requiring Cameras on Ignition Interlock Devices for Some Offenders ......... 13 Figure 2 States that have Statutorily Defined “Autocycle” ...................................................... 36 Figure 3 School Bus Safety ......................................................................................................... 39 Appendices Appendix A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Regional Offices ................ 47 Appendix B Safety Belt Laws 2017 ..................................................................................... 48 Appendix C State Laws on Child Restraint Use 2017 ........................................................ 51 Appendix D Restrictions on Riding in Cargo Areas of Pickup Trucks ................................ 57 Appendix E Licensing Procedures for Older Drivers ......................................................... 60 Appendix F Teen Driving Restrictions ................................................................................ 64 Appendix G State Aggressive Driving Laws ........................................................................ 69 Appendix H State Maximum Posted Speed Limit Laws..................................................... 73 Appendix I State Policies Regarding Use of Traffic Cameras............................................ 76 Appendix J Motorcycle Helmet Use Requirements ......................................................... 80 v NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES Introduction More than 37,000 people died on U.S. roadways in 2016. The total, 37,461, represents a 5.6 percent in- crease from 35,485 fatalities in 2015. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), fatalities related to distracted and drowsy driving declined, while deaths related to other behav- iors such as speeding, alcohol impairment and not wearing seat belts increased. The number of passenger vehicle occupant and motorcyclist fatalities reached their highest levels since 2008, and bicyclist and pe- destrian deaths continued a worrying rise, reaching levels not seen in nearly 30 years. Injury estimates are not available for 2016, thus no injury estimates will be presented in this publication. For more information about injury estimates, read Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS) Replaces the National Automotive Sam- pling System (NASS) General Estimates System (GES) at the end of this publication. AAA’s 2016 Traffic Safety Culture Index shows that nearly everyone in America is affected by traffic crash- es. Nearly one in three drivers has had a friend or relative seriously injured or killed in motor vehicle crash. Almost 20 percent of drivers have been involved in a serious crash at some point in their lives and over 10 percent of drivers have been seriously injured in a crash. According to AAA’s index, 81.9 percent of drivers are very concerned about roadway safety but only 60.2 percent believe their state government is similarly concerned. However, traffic safety is a costly, personal and important public health issue for many people, including state legislators. In 2017, state legislators debated nearly 2,000 traffic safety bills. Issues examined in this report include: • Occupant protection. • Child passenger protection. • Impaired driving. • Drugged driving. • Distracted driving. • Teen drivers. • Older drivers. • Drivers licensing. • Speeding and speed limits. • Aggressive drivers. • Automated enforcement. • Motorcycle safety. • School bus safety. • Pedestrian and bicyclist safety. • Slow and medium speed vehicles. Tables and charts detailing state traffic safety laws are included, as are contacts and links for further infor- mation (Appendix A contains National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regional office contact- infor mation). All bills discussed in this report can be found in the NCSL - NHTSA Traffic Safety Legislative Track- ing Database. 1 NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES Federal Trafc Safety Update Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in December 2015. The FAST Act is a five-year bill that provides authority and funding for federal surface transportation programs and approved $305 billion for surface transportation programs through 2020. The FAST Act includes highway safety provisions in Title IV, which provides grants to states to advance a number of traffic safety-related programs if they adopt, or have adopted, certain provisions. Grants are available for programs that involve occupant