No one needs to drive 80 mph. Why roads may be less safe during the pandemic.
Give me liberty and give me death. That’s an apt update of Patrick Henry’s famous 1775 quote, considering behavior among some conservative lawmakers whose view of “liberty” places us all at risk.
Liberty apparently means opposing government attempts to get everyone vaccinated during a pandemic. It has long been invoked to oppose gun laws that would save lives.
And, as underscored by data in the recent report from Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety, a distorted definition of liberty helps explain why many states have failed to enact laws needed to combat the soaring death rate on U.S. roads. An estimated 20,160 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes during the first half of last year, according to the latest government data. That’s an increase of more than 18% from the first half of 2020, despite the fact that fewer people were driving because of the pandemic, and 2020 was already more than 7% higher than 2019.
Covering basic safety
The Advocates’ report examined basic auto-safety laws in each state – covering things such as seat belts, impaired driving and teen driving – and produced three-tiered rankings. Eight states plus Washington, D.C., received the best ranking. Thirty-one states were in the middle level, indicating need for improvement. And 11 states scored worst, meaning they were lagging "dangerously behind” in adopting important safety laws.
In comparing these rankings with the latest political affiliation of governors, I found that all eight of the highest-ranked states have Democratic governors. Among the 11 worst ranked states, all have Republican governors.
This might not be scientific, but it’s a vivid illustration of misguided liberty at work.
The two poorest performing states in terms of enacting highway safety laws to save lives are Wyoming and Missouri. Missouri earned a place at the bottom of the list not only because it has so few regulations but also by its decision to repeal a motorcycle helmet law, despite pleas from health and safety officials.
Why are things changing on the road?
In the two years that the pandemic has altered life for Americans, reckless driving increased dramatically. Experts say it often stems from widespread feelings of isolation, depression and despair.
“We might decide: What does a seat belt or another beer matter, anyway, when we’re in the middle of a pandemic?” Shannon Frattaroli, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University, told the Los Angeles Times.
But failure to pass adequate safety laws predates the pandemic; what’s different now is that the laws are more desperately needed. Consider something as fundamental as proper protection for children under age 2, for whom the safest method of transport is in a rear-facing car seat.
Astoundingly, only 16 states and Washington, D.C., have laws requiring children to be protected this way. Published statistics indicate chances of an infant being injured when riding in a properly used car seat are reduced by at least 71%.
Why is that a political issue?
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The Advocates’ report says 30 states need better enforcement of adult seat belt regulations; 32 states lack an all-rider helmet law for motorcycles; 34 states must tighten infant transport regulations, and four states still have inadequate laws governing texting while driving.
Rising speeds and rising risk
Meanwhile, speed limits are creeping up, with eight states now allowing driving at 80 mph on some roads.
Legislators seem to fear backlash if they force drivers to spend more time behind the wheel by slowing down, though the safety benefits have been clearly established. Last year’s bipartisan infrastructure bill will pay for a plan called the National Roadway Safety Strategy aimed at improving roads and designing safer cars.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg expressed concern about the growing number of road deaths, telling The Associated Press, "Somehow it has become over the years and decades as normal, sort of the cost of doing business. Even through a pandemic that led to considerably less driving, we continue to see more danger on our roads.”
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America has twice as many traffic-related deaths per capita as any other developed country. Roughly two decades ago, Belgium, Spain, France and the Czech Republic had rates comparable with the United States' but have since cut them in half, Vox reported.
It can be argued that the rural nature of, say, Wyoming requires that some laws, such as speed limits, be different than in more heavily populated states. But Wyoming, like the 10 other low-ranked states, has a long list of inadequate safety measures that have nothing whatsoever to do with lower population; in Wyoming’s case, for example, the state lacks an open container law for alcohol that meets federal guidelines.
Highway safety, especially at a time of an unprecedented spike in fatalities, shouldn’t be politicized. Roadblocking vital safety laws isn’t liberty. It’s just reckless.
Peter Funt is co-host of "Candid Camera" and author of the newly released book “Self-Amused: A Tell-Some Memoir."