Utah consistently ranks dead last among states when it comes to per pupil funding for public education. The Wasatch Front also consistently has some of the poorest, if not the poorest, air quality in the nation. Other areas of the state are not far behind. But when it comes to traffic safety laws, Utah is in the middle of the 50 states.
A report recently released by the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety ranks Utah in the middle of the road when it comes to such laws. The Advocates is an alliance of insurance companies and consumer, health and safety groups. It promotes what it calls 15 key “life saving” laws, and tracks the passage of them in each state. Utah has passed eight, while nineteen states have passed fewer and twenty-four have passed more. No state has yet passed all fifteen. Illinois, New York and Oregon have passed the most with 12 each, while South Dakota comes in last because it has only passed two.
The report calls on Utah to pass a helmet law for motorcyclists, and to make failure to wear a seat-belt a primary offense instead of a secondary offense. That would allow law enforcement to stop and ticket drivers when they see a violation, rather than only allowing for such citations when a motorist is pulled over for some other traffic law violation.
The 15 laws are:
Occupant Protection
Primary Enforcement Front Seat Belt Law
Primary Enforcement Rear Seat Belt Law
All-Rider Motorcycle Helmet Law
Child Safety
Booster Seat Law
Teen Driving
Learner’s Stage: Minimum Age 16 for Learner’s Permit
Learner’s Stage: Six-Month Holding Period Provision
Learner’s Stage: 30-50 Hours of Supervised Driving Provision
Intermediate Stage: Nighttime Driving Restriction Provision
Intermediate Stage: Passenger Restriction Provision
Cell Phone Restriction
Age 18 for Unrestricted License
Impaired Driving
Ignition Interlock Devices (IIDs)
Child Endangerment
Open Container
Distracted Driving
All-Driver Text Messaging Restriction
It’s nice to see Utah in news for something positive for once.
Bret Hanna of Wrona DuBois in Utah, focuses exclusively on litigating plaintiffs’ medical malpractice and catastrophic personal injury cases. He has represented clients in state and federal courts, in mediations, and in administrative proceedings in Michigan and Utah since 1991.
One Comment
john
Clearly Utah consistently ranks dead last among states when it comes to per pupil funding for public education. The Wasatch Front also consistently has some of the poorest, if not the poorest, air quality in the nation.
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