Tier | Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety

Group Letter to U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Transportation and Infrastructure Legislation

As families who have suffered the loss or serious injury of children, spouses and other loved ones in preventable motor vehicle crashes, truck crashes, hot car incidents, and seatback failures, we join with consumer, public health, safety, bicyclist and pedestrian advocates in urging you to ensure that the safety advances enacted in H.R. 3684, the INVEST in America Act, are retained in the final infrastructure bill sent to President Biden.

Joint Statement on House Transportation & Infrastructure’s “INVEST in America Act”

Today the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure released legislation that takes affirmative steps towards a future of safer roads, drivers and vehicles; however, it also includes a significant carve-out from proven safety technology for special trucking interests. The “INVEST in America Act”, includes numerous provisions that if enacted have the potential to significantly reduce motor vehicle crashes and fatalities. Yesterday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released data showing 38,680 crash deaths in 2020, representing a 7.2 percent increase and 13-year high despite a drop in the number of miles driven on U.S. roads last year. The data also showed alarming increases in reckless behavior such as speeding, impaired driving and lack of seat belt use.

Statement: New Crash Tests Reveal Deadly Consequences of Higher Speeds and Make the Case for Advancing Proven Safeguards

New crash tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, and Humanetics show that modest five to ten miles-per-hour (mph) increases in speed can have a severe impact on a driver’s risk of injury or even death. The findings underscore the need to curb speed escalation, expand the use of road safety technologies such as automated speed enforcement (ASE), and require proven vehicle safety technology in all new vehicles. The new study and focus on speed are especially timely following a year when many motorists turned emptier roads into risky racetracks and the traffic fatality rate increased greatly due in part to an uptick in speeding.

PRESS RELEASE: Following Deadlier Than Expected 2020, New Highway Safety Report Provides Solutions State Legislatures Can Take Action on as 2021 Sessions Kick Off

In 2020, impaired and distracted driving increased, and seat belt use decreased, contributing to a higher overall fatality rate in the first half of the year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and news reports from around the country. In the Report, Advocates urges states to “Change this Picture in 2021,” by enacting 16 recommended optimal highway safety laws.