Here’s what a safety group says must change for Washington’s teen drivers
Washington highway safety laws are among the nation’s best at protecting people — but its laws governing teenage drivers need some toughening.
That’s the finding of Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety, a nonpartisan watchdog group that studies the effectiveness of laws aimed at curbing distracted driving, encouraging and enforcing seat belt use and closely monitoring and restricting teen drivers.
The study found Washington did well in 12 of 16 areas studied, notably in its tough vehicle safety laws requiring seat belts, child protection and restrictions on impaired drivers..
Washington was one of the seven highest-rated states. The group found it is “significantly advanced toward adopting all of Advocates’ recommended optimal laws.”
Washington was rated highly for its efforts to protect vehicle occupants. Nationwide, 47% of the 22,697 people killed in passenger vehicle riders were not wearing seat belts.
The state has seat belt laws the organization said help prevent fatalities. Among them: Primary enforcement of front and rear seat belt use, meaning a law enforcement officer can stop a vehicle if someone is not belted in.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 283 lives were saved in Washington in 2017 because of seat belt use. Had others been buckled in, 22 more lives could have been saved.
Washington got high marks for requiring motorcycle riders of all ages to wear helmets. It’s one of 19 states with that requirement.
The state also scored high in child safety enforcement. Nationally, a total of 1,038 children under 14 were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2018, and about 190,000 were injured.
Washington is one of 15 states with laws requiring infants and toddlers to sit in a rear facing child restraint system at least through age 2. The system should be certified by the manufacturer to meet federal safety standards.
Another state law lauded in the report requires children who have outgrown the height and weight limit of a forward-facing safety sit in a booster seat until he or she is 8 years old and 57 inches tall. Sixteen states have such laws.
Night driving, passenger limits for teens
Washington stumbles somewhat as children get older, the group said. In the decade between 2009 and 2018, 711 fatalities in the state were caused by motor vehicle crashes involving drivers aged 15 to 20.
Because Washington was rated poorly in lacking nighttime restrictions for such drivers, or restrictions on passengers, among other things, it’s in the middle of the rated states in the teen driving category. The advocates group wants the nighttime ban to begin at 10 p.m., and the night and passenger restrictions to be in effect until age 18.
An intermediate driver’s license, available to teens who have turned 16 years old and have held a permit for at least six months, currently allows the holder to to drive unsupervised except from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.
During the first six months the driver has the license, the teenager cannot carry any non-family member passengers under 20. After six months, the driver can carry up to three non-family members younger than 20, says the Washington State Department of Licensing.
Drunk driving rules
In another safety rating, the state gets high marks for requiring a breath alcohol ignition interlock device linked to a vehicle ignition system for all offenders.
Such systems aim to deter someone with a drunk driving conviction from operating a vehicle if their blood alcohol level is above the level set by state law.
The report also gave Washington high scores for its efforts to discourage distracted driving, lauding its ban on text messaging during driving and restricting cell phone usage while driving.
The report aims to promote the idea that as technology improves, so does the potential to prevent crashes that result in injuries and death.
Big challenges remain. Catherine Chase, the organization’s president, cited “critical safety issues that must be addressed,” including standards to measure driver assistance technology and autonomous vehicles, further measures to combat drug-impaired driving, better safety for rear seat passengers and more protection for pedestrians and bicycle riders.
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