Getting pulled over sucks. There’s no way around it. It’s inconvenient, nerve-wracking, embarrassing, scary and pricey, if an officer gives you a ticket. Yes, it is quite terrible.
But the traffic laws for which you’re getting pulled over, as much as we hate them, really do make a difference.
Data compiled by the Auto Insurance Center, the same group that brought you stats on #drivingselfies, shows just how influential these regulations can be. Across the board, states with tougher driving laws see fewer motorists die on their roadways.
Looking at speed limits, teen driving restrictions and seat belt laws, there’s a direct relationship between tougher, well-enforced laws and fewer deaths. That’s no accident, traffic safety advocates say.
“We’ve really focused on data-driven proposals to bring the crash death and injury rate down,” said Bill Bronrott, a transportation safety advocate, former Maryland delegate and the former deputy administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. “We’ve found when they’re embraced and enforced, these model laws are making a huge difference.”
And as you look at more and more data for increasingly dangerous driving behaviors, the regulations really do work.
Take speeding. Speed limits vary by states for good reasons. You can safely drive faster in rural Texas or Wyoming than in urban New York or Illinois. But where speed limits are higher, fatalities are also more common.
Read more of the original article in The Washington Post for charts and statistics.
