The 2026 Roadmap to Safety report reveals that most states are falling short on adopting proven traffic safety laws, despite more than 40,000 roadway deaths and millions of injuries each year. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, joined by lawmakers, safety leaders, and families who've lost loved ones, urge state and federal officials to act swiftly on the report's recommendations—addressing speeding, impaired and distracted driving, red-light running, and lack of seat belt use—to save lives, prevent injuries, and curb the mounting economic toll of crashes.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Today, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates) was joined by a member of Congress, a state lawmaker, parents of children killed in motor vehicle crashes, law enforcement, and consumer and insurance leaders to release the 2026 Roadmap to Safety(Report). This comprehensive tool provides a guide for state legislatures, Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to address the tragic number of deaths and injuries on U.S. roadways. In 2023, the most recent year with finalized statistics, 40,901 people were killed in crashes and an additional 2.44 million were injured. Preliminary numbers for 2024 remain historically high. Speeding, red light running, impaired driving, distractions and not buckling up are contributing to these devastating figures; however, proven solutions are available to end the nightmare playing out on our nation's roadways.
Advocates and safety partners call on state and federal leaders to implement the strategies outlined in this Report.
Cathy Chase, President, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety: "The Roadmap to Safety is a call to action for our elected officials to address the ongoing crisis of motor vehicle crashes. It serves as a guide and a challenge to enact proven safety measures throughout the nation. With traffic fatalities 26% higher than their historic low point in 2011, and injuries 10% higher, state lawmakers and Congress must prioritize improving the safety of road users as they begin to shape their agendas for 2026 legislative sessions. It is go-time for safer roads."
Christy King, Christopher King Foundation (Virginia): "My son, Christopher King, was just 18 years old when he was killed in a car crash—the one time he didn't buckle up. This year, the Christopher King Seat Belt Law (HB 2475) passed and took effect July 1, requiring all vehicle occupants, regardless of seating position, to wear a seat belt in Virginia. This was the first change in Virginia's adult seat belt law since 1988. Seat belts are the first line of defense in a crash, and in 2023, nearly half of passenger vehicle occupant fatalities were unrestrained. I encourage state legislators to read this report and enact solutions to save lives."
Vickie Brown, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (Maryland): "After a drunk driver killed my son Darius, I made a promise to do everything I could to prevent other families from living this nightmare. This report card gives every state a clear roadmap to fill dangerous gaps in their traffic safety laws. Drunk driving crashes are 100% preventable, and these road-tested laws will save many lives. I'm here to urge lawmakers to act now because every life saved means one less family living with this pain."
Rep. Marc Lee (D), Member, Montana House of Representatives and Captain/EMT, Butte, MT Fire Department: "My experience at the Fire Department drove my passion for child passenger safety. So, when I was elected to the state House of Representatives, I was determined to upgrade our current law to be more prescriptive and better protect our most vulnerable. With no state awarded a green rating for child passenger safety laws in the Roadmap report, I urge state legislators in all states to use it as a guide to enacting upgrades in your 2026 legislative sessions. There simply is no reason not to."
Chris Olson, Chief of Police, University of Arizona, Roadway Safety Committee member, International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and 2026 Advocates Consumer Co-Chair: "Teen and young adult novice drivers are more likely to be involved in fatal crashes because they lack driving experience and tend to take greater risks. As a former motorcycle officer, I also want to focus on the need for all riders to wear helmets. The good news is that we can work to address those issues. The solutions outlined in this report are proven to reduce the risk of fatalities and injuries. We must get going on them."
Erica Rosso, Consumer Safety Partnership and Program Supervisor, NJM Insurance Group, 2026 Advocates Insurance Co-Chair: "With crashes still claiming 112 lives and injuring nearly 6,700 people every single day, our work is far from done. That's why the 2026 Roadmap to Safety report is so critical. It provides proven, actionable solutions at the local, state and federal levels that can reduce preventable tragedies on our roads. These recommendations are grounded in research and real-world results, offering lawmakers and communities a clear path toward safer roadway environments."
Kelly Ingram, Sergeant, Paradise Valley Police Department, Paradise Valley, Arizona: "I'm honored to help unveil the 2026 Roadmap to Safety and I am proud to share that Paradise Valley was the first law enforcement agency in the country to install automated enforcement. Unfortunately, over the last several years, our state legislature debated multiple bills that would ban the use of speed and red-light safety cameras and remove a community's ability to implement its own traffic-safety strategies. Speed and red-light cameras support our safety mission, and I urge the states not currently using them to start doing so to make our roads safer for all."
Report Findings:
Advocates' Roadmap to Safety gives every state and Washington, DC a rating in six categories (Occupant Protection, Child Passenger Safety, Young Drivers, Impaired Driving, Distracted Driving and Automated Enforcement to Curb Speed and Red Light Running) as well as an overall grade of "green," "yellow," and "red," reflecting each state's progress, or lack thereof, toward achieving the optimal laws and provisions.
Five states (MD, NY, OR, RI, WA) and DC receive the highest rating of "green," while nine states earn a "red" rating for lagging dangerously behind in the adoption of Advocates' recommended laws (ID, MI, MO, MT, NE, NV, OK, SD, WY). The remaining 36 states receive a "yellow" or caution rating, indicating that improvement is needed.
Opportunities for state legislative improvement in 2026:
No state has enacted all 18 of Advocates' optimal countermeasures. Based on Advocates' safety recommendations, states across the nation need to adopt 534 countermeasures.
- 15 states need an optimal primary enforcement seat belt law for front seat passengers.
- 29 states need an optimal primary enforcement seat belt law for rear seat passengers.
- 33 states need an optimal all-rider motorcycle helmet law.
- 25 states need a rear facing through age 2 or older child passenger safety law.
- 36 states and DC need an optimal booster seat law.
- 45 states and DC need an optimal rear seat through age 12 law.
- 187 GDL laws need to be adopted to ensure the safety of novice drivers; no state meets all the criteria recommended in this report.
- 32 critical impaired driving laws are needed in 28 states.
- 5 states need an optimal all-driver text messaging restriction.
- 24 states need a GDL cell phone restriction.
- 27 states need to permit red light cameras by law.
- 28 states do not have red light cameras in use.
- 21 states need to permit automated speed enforcement by law.
- 25 states do not have automated speed enforcement in use.
A comprehensive approach to safety that prioritizes safe vehicles, safe road users and safe roadway infrastructure – as has been the foundation of Advocates' mission since our founding in 1989 – is the clear path to eliminating the preventable physical, emotional and economic toll crashes impose.
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety is an alliance of consumer, medical, public health, law enforcement and safety groups and insurance companies and agents working together to make America's roads safer. Advocates' mission is the adoption of federal and state laws, policies and programs that prevent motor vehicle crashes, save lives, reduce injuries, and contain costs.
Media Contact
Shane Austin, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, 1 202-425-2776, [email protected], www.saferoads.org
Bill Bronrott, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, 1 202-270-4415, [email protected], www.saferoads.org
SOURCE Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
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