Missouri has been given an “F” for safety, with a big portion of this failing grade due to dangerous driving habits.
The National Safety Council is a not-for-profit agency that promotes safety to prevent deaths in the workplace, in the home, and on our nation’s roads. It recently published its “The State of Safety” report for 2018. It measured safety issues for those three areas – workplace, home and road – issuing category grades for each state in the nation.
Fatal Car Accidents in Missouri
The Show-Me State was shown an F for road safety, ranking 49th out of our 50 states. This shocking grade reflects the leading causes today of fatal motor vehicle accidents.
Drunk driving is one leading cause of catastrophic car and truck accidents. In its most recent report on fatal truck accidents (for 2016), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents that 2 percent of truckers involved in deadly crashes had a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit. Of all passenger car drivers involved in 2016 fatal accidents, 21 percent were legally drunk behind the wheel.
The National Safety Council found Missouri deficient in two categories relating to drunk driving: a lack of an open container ban and its policy on revoking the license of those found to be driving drunk.
Texting and Driving in Missouri
The NHTSA earlier this year issued a report on distracted driving for 2016. It found that 9 percent of fatal motor vehicle crashes that year had a distracted driver. All totaled, 3,450 people died in distracted driving crashes.
The National Safety Council labeled Missouri “Off Track” when it comes to a texting ban for all drivers and for a total cellphone ban for new and teenage drivers. Current state law allows anyone over 21 years old to use a cellphone in any fashion while driving.
The National Safety Council likewise deems Missouri “Off Track” for speeding drivers, citing the state’s speed limits on urban interstates and in school zones.
Yet the federal government reports that 18 percent of all the fatal car and truck crashes in 2016 involved a speeding driver. More than one in four of those who died on a roadway were killed in a wreck involving at least one speeding driver.
Missouri apparently can and should do more to prevent fatal car and truck crashes. But this doesn’t dismiss personal responsibility. Those who drive negligently and cause accidents that kill others must also be held to account.
If you were seriously injured or had a family member die in a crash caused by another driver, visit a motor vehicle accident attorney to discuss your legal rights.
The choice of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely on advertisements.
Authored by Gray Ritter Graham, posted in Blog June 21, 2018
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