When it Comes to Preventing Car Crashes, Columbia Missouri Joins the World

This week launched the "Decade of Action for Road Safety," the first-ever worldwide effort to improve road safety. Over 50 countries and 30 U.S. cities participated in the May 11 event, hosted by Norman Mineta, the longest-serving Secretary of Transportation in the nation's history.

In the first of a two-part series on our Car Accident Lawyer Blog, we will look at the safety goals for the next decade. In our second blog, we will look at our attitudes when it comes to safety issues and some of the leading causes of car accidents in Columbia, Missouri, and elsewhere.

The survey by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that Americans want more government action when it comes to traffic safety -- even in an era where many want a smaller government with less of a role in our daily lives.

The need is obvious: 1.3 million people die on the world's roads each year and 3.5 million are injured. Annual road deaths are projected to increase to nearly 2 million by the end of the decade.

"Despite shrinking federal and state transportation budgets and a public debate over the most appropriate role of government, it's clear that a majority of Americans want government officials to do more - not less - about highway safety," said AAA President and CEO Bob Darbelnet. "From passing and enforcing laws about teen drivers and distracted driving to programs that improve the safety of our roadways and add safety equipment to vehicles, there are many steps the government can take to reduce crashes, injuries, and deaths in the U.S."

The United States and the major economies of the G20 have endorsed the Decade of Action.

"At a time when more and more U.S. highway safety agencies are adopting "Toward Zero Death" goals, it is very heartening to see motorist support for more, not less action by government to make our roads safer," said Peter Kissinger, President of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

• 62 percent of Americans say the U.S. needs more laws to improve motorist safety.
• 57 percent say their state needs to do more.
• 86 percent want all new drivers to complete a driver's education course.
• Most Americans think it is the job of both manufacturers and the government to make vehicles safer.
• 70 percent think driving laws should be enforced more strictly.