REPORT GIVES WV POOR RATING FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY

(01/09/2004)

Besides being only one of five states not having any safety regulations on ATVs, a national report released yesterday gave West Virginia's highway safety efforts low marks. The state has the highest death rate on ATVs, mostly children. "Roadmap to State Highway Safety Laws" was issued by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, a coalition of insurance, health, law enforcement and consumer organizations. The report says West Virginia has not implemented ten of the 16 highway safety laws considered essential by the coalition. They include lowering the blood alcohol limit from 1.0 to .08 percent, adopting a primary seat belt law, complying with federal mandates for penalizing repeat drunken driving offenders and prohibiting open alcohol containers in vehicles. Coalition President Judy Stone says highway safety is major health issue, and "You think about the thousands of lives saved, there's no reason not to enact these laws." West Virginia received an average grade in the broader area of passenger safety.

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