Report Rates Texas Middle of the Road on Safety Laws

Roadmap Report recommends states implement 16 safety laws; Texas has 9 of them

Texas is just about middle of the road when it comes to road safety laws, according to a new report released this week.

The 2019 Roadmap Report, compiled by the group Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, looks at laws in place that are aimed at saving lives and preventing injury on the roads.

Texas led the nation in traffic fatalities in 2017, the latest year this organization was able to review data from. More than 3,700 people were killed in crashes on Texas roads in 2017.

The group has a list of 16 laws it recommends states implement; Texas has nine of them in place already.

The seven laws that Texas lacks, according to the Roadmap Report, are:

• Making it mandatory that all motorcycle riders wear helmets
• Making it mandatory that all child seats be rear-facing through the age of 2
• Making 16 the minimum age before someone can earn a learners permit
• Enforcing stronger supervised driving requirements for younger drivers
• Stronger nighttime restrictions for younger drivers
• Stronger passenger restrictions for younger drivers
• Making 18 the age at which a driver can earn their unrestricted license

The report credits Texas for some of the laws it already has in place, including the restrictions on texting while driving and seatbelt enforcement.

Seatbelts saved more lives in Texas than any other state in 2017, according to the Roadmap Report.

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