2016 Republican Platform Safety

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

The platform is dedicated as follows:

“We dedicate this platform with admiration and gratitude
To all who stand strong in the face of danger
So that the American people may be protected against it —
The men and women of our military,
of our law enforcement, and the first responders
of every community in our land —
And to their families.” 

I like that it mentions “first responders” but as one reads the Platform it is heavily laden with “leave it to the States” policies.

The Chair is Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming and an orthopedic surgeon.

So how are the people of Wyoming protected by the State?  Today the Detroit Bureau reports:

“For teenagers, Wyoming reported the highest rate of deaths for teen drivers and the state has only mild restrictions on teen drivers. However, the next two states on the list, Montana and North Dakota, have some of the least restrictive rules for teen drivers, granting them full privileges at age 16.

In fact, the top five states for teen crash fatalities all have little or mildly restrictive licensing policies for teens. They could lower their stats, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, by tightening their rules on graduated licenses.

According to the NHTSA, implementing Graduated Driver Licensing can lead to a 20-50% decrease in accidents involving young and inexperienced drivers. Vehicle accidents are the top cause of death for teenagers.

In the broader study, states with few safety restrictions often finished at or near the top of some highly undesirable categories.

The top 15 states for restraint-related crash fatalities also have the lowest penalties for failure to buckle up. Again, Wyoming tops the list for accident deaths. Mississippi, Montana, and North Dakota also rank high for fatalities relating to a lack of restraint.”  See http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2016/07/traffic-deaths-highest-in-lenient-states/

Red State vs. Blue State analysis of crash deaths in 2012 showed Wyoming had the worst fatality rate back then too.  Seehttp://www.fairwarning.org/2012/11/traffic-deaths-a-surprising-dimension-of-the-red-state-blue-state-divide/
“Wrong Way Wyoming” was the title of my blog in March of 2016.  See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog/blog-2016republicanplatformsafety/
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety in 2016 detailed how poorly Wyoming was protecting motorists – and what was needed.  See http://saferoads.org/state/wyoming/
Readers can see how many lives have been lost in each Congressional district over the past decade at https://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=e21e612d64654d75943f85a1a6035472
This election year act!  Let them know your views on ending vehicle deaths and injuries.
Lou Lombardo

____________________Lou Lombardowww.CareForCrashVictims.com

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