Washington, D.C., Washington Receive Top Rankings in National Scorecard on Highway Safety Laws; Arizona Ranked Lowest

CHICAGO--Washington, D.C. and the state of Washington were the only locations to receive perfect scores in an Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) study released today that ranked states on a scale of one to ten for having highway laws that promote safety and injury prevention.

The “2006 ENA National Scorecard on State Highway Laws: A Roadmap for Injury Prevention” ranked Arizona at the bottom of the survey, with a score of two out of a possible 10. The scorecard is designed to educate legislators and the general public about their state’s strengths, weaknesses and level of risk at a time of increased travel during the holiday season.

The scorecard rankings were based on ENA criteria derived from five policy areas that come under the jurisdiction of the states, four of which focused on the presence of highway safety laws including primary seatbelt laws, child passenger safety laws, graduated driver licensing (GDL) and universal motorcycle helmet laws. The fifth measure evaluated each state’s capacity to respond to severe emergencies by determining the existence of initiatives that would allow a state to establish a statewide trauma system.

“We’ve released the scorecard at a time of increased emphasis on disaster preparedness, which can overshadow the fact that more than 40,000 fatalities occur on our roadways every year,” said Nancy Bonalumi, RN, MS, CEN, ENA president. “The scorecard is designed to educate ENA members and the general public about each state’s strengths and weaknesses so that they are empowered to advocate for change. While we can not be free of risk, it is necessary to take all possible steps toward preventing injury.”

The ENA’s Injury Prevention Institute, which compiled the scorecard, emphasizes that safe driving is a public health issue. In 2004, 42,836 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes. In 2005, there was a 1.4 percent increase over the 2004 data, raising the total to 43,443 people killed. This level is the greatest number of fatalities from traffic crashes since 1990. The scorecard aims to enhance collaborative efforts at the local, state and national levels to encourage implementation of effective injury prevention programs and policies to help save lives.

Key information from the report:

Locations with the most highway safety and injury prevention laws in place according to ENA criteria include Washington, D.C., Washington, California, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon and Tennessee
States with the fewest highway safety and injury prevention laws in place include Idaho, North Dakota, Ohio, Arkansas, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Arizona
Six states currently do not have established statewide trauma system and have no plan in place for establishing a trauma system to respond to medical emergencies

“Every year emergency nurses treat thousands of patients who are the victims of traffic accidents that might have been prevented,” Bonalumi said. “We recognize the importance of laws in promoting safe driving and preventing injury, particularly around Thanksgiving and other busy holiday seasons. We hope that his scorecard will serve as a wake up call on all levels.”

Scorecard rankings:
STATE                                   SCORE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA -- 10
WASHINGTON -- 10
CALIFORNIA -- 9
GEORGIA -- 9
NEW JERSEY -- 9
NORTH CAROLINA -- 9
OREGON -- 9
TENNESSEE -- 9
DELAWARE  -- 8
ILLINOIS -- 8
MAINE -- 8
MARYLAND  -- 8
MISSOURI -- 8
NEW MEXICO -- 8
WEST VIRGINIA -- 8
WISCONSIN -- 8
ALASKA -- 7
COLORADO -- 7
CONNECTICUT -- 7
HAWAII -- 7
MICHIGAN -- 7
NEW YORK -- 7
OKLAHOMA -- 7
PENNSYLVANIA -- 7
VERMONT -- 7
VIRGINIA -- 7
ALABAMA -- 6
INDIANA -- 6
KENTUCKY -- 6
LOUISIANA -- 6
MONTANA -- 6
NEBRASKA -- 6
NEVADA -- 6
SOUTH CAROLINA -- 6
TEXAS -- 6
UTAH -- 6
WYOMING -- 6
FLORIDA -- 5
IOWA -- 5
KANSAS -- 5
MASSACHUSETTS -- 5
MISSISSIPPI -- 5
NEW HAMPSHIRE -- 5
RHODE ISLAND -- 5
IDAHO -- 4
NORTH DAKOTA -- 4
OHIO -- 4
ARKANSAS -- 3
MINNESOTA -- 3
SOUTH DAKOTA -- 3
ARIZONA -- 2

For more information on the scorecard and to learn more about the survey’s ranking system/criteria, visit www.ena.org. Media wishing to arrange an interview with ENA president Nancy Bonalumi should contact Tarsis Lopez at lopezt@fleishman.com or (312) 751-3617.

About the Emergency Nurses Association

The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) is the only professional nursing association dedicated to defining the future of emergency nursing and emergency care through advocacy, expertise, innovation and leadership. Founded in 1970, ENA serves as the voice of more than 30,000 members and their patients through research, publications, professional development, injury prevention and patient education. Additional information is available at ENA’s Web site, www.ena.org.

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