Editorial: Keep those traffic safety laws coming

Monday, Aug. 16, 2004 | 8:50 a.m.

Nevada did its part last year to contribute to the nation's fewest traffic fatalities ever. People in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia set a record for total miles driven -- 2.88 trillion. Yet the number of traffic deaths nationally and in Nevada decreased. Federal officials are crediting increased use of seat belts and tougher DUI laws for much of the improvement.

Nationally, 42,643 people died in vehicle crashes in 2003. While that number remains shockingly high, it nevertheless is lower by 362 from the previous year. The number represents a traffic death rate of 1.48 for every 100 million miles driven. This is the lowest number since the federal government began charting traffic fatalities in 1966.

Nevada contributed to the decline with a 3.5 percent decrease in fatalities -- 368 in 2003 as opposed to 381 in 2002, according to the U.S. Transportation Department. Of those killed last year on our state's roads, 65 percent, or 239, were not wearing seat belts, Nevada state records show. It's been the law in Nevada since 1985 for drivers and passengers to wear seat belts. We have to wonder how much better our statistics would be if those who died had been buckled up.

The state and national statistics show that laws promoting safety are not the byproduct of an overzealous government bent on restricting freedoms, as many critics of the laws have alleged over the years. "America's roads and highways are safer than ever," Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said last week in announcing the 2003 numbers. Would this boast have been possible without the laws mandating seat belts, motorcycle helmets, child-restraint seats and a blood-alcohol limit of 0.08 percent? We don't believe so, yet opposition was strong when those laws were first proposed.

As the federal government has brought pressure on states to pass such safety laws, it has also brought pressure on the car manufacturing industry. The Highway Safety Act and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration came along in the 1960s and along with them came hundreds of automobile innovations that are continuing today, such as anti-lock brakes and air bags.

Next we'd like to see federal pressure on behalf of children who are left alone in cars. This year alone, 74 small children -- including one in Las Vegas -- have died around the country from being left alone in hot cars. Most of the deaths are attributable to parents simply forgetting them. Bells and whistles go off if you leave your lights on or keys in the ignition. Surely, cars can be made to remind people of their children. This, and other such laws, should keep coming despite any initial outcries. Who among us can say that we'd be alive today if it weren't for the laws on traffic safety that have been passed over the years?