Statement on July 4th Travel and Actions All States Should Take to Save Lives and Reduce Injuries on Our Roadways

Contact: Shane Austin
saustin@saferoads.org
202.425.2776

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Statement of Cathy Chase, President, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates), on July 4^th Travel and Actions All States Should Take to Save Lives and Reduce Injuries on Our Roadways

(Washington, D.C. | June 30, 2025) “We all rely on motor vehicles for commutes and carpools, for e-commerce packages to be delivered, and for summer family vacations, including the many taken over the July 4^th holiday. Unfortunately, when travel increases on our roadways, so do preventable tragedies. We urge all those navigating our roadways this holiday to ensure everyone buckles up in every seat, only drive when sober and alert, eliminate digital distractions and obey speed limits. Our state and federal leaders also must advance proven policy solutions to bring down the horrifying fatalities and injuries we continue to endure.”

Travel Facts:

• AAA projects6 million people will travel 50 miles or more by car for the July 4^th holiday, up nearly 1.3 million from 2024.
• Traffic fatalities and injuries remain at historically high levels.

As outlined in our 2025 Roadmap to Safety report, seat belt and motorcycle helmet non-use, impaired driving, distraction, speeding and red light running are some of the major factors contributing to crashes. The actions below should be taken now to prevent them and save lives.

All states should:

• • Adopt primary enforcement all-occupant seat belt laws and all-rider motorcycle helmet laws:
    • Based on known restraint use, nearly half of passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2023 were unrestrained.
    • For passenger vehicle occupants who survived fatal crashes in 2023, only 14% were unrestrained.
    • Seat belt use is higher in states with primary enforcement laws compared to those with secondary enforcement laws.
    • Motorcycles are the most hazardous form of motor vehicle transportation; 6,335 riders were killed in 2023. Yet, only 17 states and DC have all-rider motorcycle helmet laws.
  • Enact all-offender ignition interlock device (IID) laws:
    • More than 10,000 people are killed in impaired driving crashes every year.
    • Nationwide, between 2006 and 2020, IIDs prevented 3.78 million attempts to drive drunk, according to a 2022 report from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
  • Enact comprehensive laws to deter distracted driving:
    • As technology on mobile devices has developed to include other electronic communications and uses such as video chatting, streaming, posting to social media and “apps,” states have enhanced their texting ban laws by prohibiting these and other distracting electronic communications and uses while driving. Yet, many improvements are still needed.
  • Permit and use speed safety and red light safety cameras:
    • A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that speed safety cameras alone resulted in a 19% reduction in the likelihood that a crash resulted in a fatal or incapacitating injury.
    • IIHS has found that red light cameras reduced fatal red light running crashes by 14% and all fatal crashes at signalized intersections by 21%.

Click here to see how your state rates on the enactment of 18 laws and countermeasures critical to reducing motor vehicle fatalities and injuries.

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About Advocates
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety is an alliance of consumer, medical, public health, law enforcement and safety groups and insurance companies and agents working together to make America’s roads safer. Advocates’ mission is the adoption of federal and state laws, policies and programs that prevent motor vehicle crashes, save lives, reduce injuries, and contain costs.