Across the 50 States, a Big Disparity in Road Safety

Traffic deaths in the United States have fallen nearly 35 percent over the past 30 years. That’s great news. But the nation’s roads still claim a terrible number of lives – 34,000 people in 2012 alone. And a new study finds that many of those deaths could have been prevented if more states had laws aimed at making driving safer, including those targeting drunk driving.

According to a new paper published in the journal Public Health, the states with the toughest driving laws saw an average 14.5 percent decrease in traffic fatalities compared to those with the most relaxed regulations.