Americans Want More, Not Less, Action to Advance Laws, Regulation, and Enforcement to Improve Highway Safety ; Timely Research Amidst U.S. Debate on Government Priorities and U.N.'s Kickoff of "Decade of Action for Road Safety"

WASHINGTON, May 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- At a time when there isintense debate about the role of government, a majority of Americanssupport additional laws and want more action by government officialsto improve highway safety, according to a new survey out today bythe AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The survey release comes asthe United Nations kicks off its 'Decade of Action on Road Safety',a global campaign to reduce highway deaths and injuries.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100920/CL66384LOGO )

"Despite shrinking federal and state transportation budgets and apublic debate over the most appropriate role of government, it'sclear that a majority of Americans want government officials to domore - not less - about highway safety," said AAA President and CEOBob Darbelnet. "From passing and enforcing laws about teen driversand distracted driving to programs that improve the safety of ourroadways and add safety equipment to vehicles, there are many stepsgovernment can take to reduce crashes, injuries, and deaths in theU.S."

The survey was released just ahead of the United Nations'official launch of the 'Decade of Action for Road Safety' campaign,which aims to stabilize and then reduce global road deaths by 2020.Major economies of the G20, including the United States as well asleading developing countries and public institutions like the WorldBank and the World Health Organization, have all endorsed the Decadeof Action.

"At a time when more and more U.S. highway safety agencies areadopting "Toward Zero Death" goals, it is very heartening to seemotorist support for more, not less action by government to make ourroads safer," added J. Peter Kissinger, President of the AAAFoundation for Traffic Safety, that commissioned this survey.

Specific survey results* include:

62 percent of Americans agree the U.S. needs more laws to preventpeople from doing dangerous things while driving (17 percentdisagree)

57 percent of Americans agree their respective state governmentneeds to do more to make their roads safer (11 percent disagree)

86 percent of Americans agree all new drivers should be requiredto complete a driver education course before they can get a driver'slicense (3% disagree)

A majority of Americans agree that both auto manufacturers (60percent) and the federal government (41 percent) need to do more tomake cars safer (9 and 21 percent, respectively, disagree)

70 percent of Americans agree that driving safety laws should beenforced more strictly (6 percent disagree)

For global context, separate information provided by the "MakeRoads Safe" global campaign** shows:

1.3 million people are killed on the world's roads each year

By 2020, annual road deaths globally are forecast to rise to 1.9million

50 million people globally are injured, many disabled as a result

Road deaths are the #1 cause of death for young people worldwide(including in the U.S.)

By 2015, road deaths will be the leading health burden forchildren over the age of five in developing countries

"As the global community has initiated action to combat thepublic health crisis associated with motor vehicle crashes, the U.S.should lead by example and invest even greater resources in laws,education, technology and road design to reduce the daily highwaycarnage," said Kissinger.

*The survey was conducted April 7 - 13 by Knowledge Networks forthe AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, with a nationallyrepresentative sample of 920 drivers ages 18 and older, using theweb-enabled KnowledgePanel(R), a probability-based panel designed tobe representative of the U.S. population. Initially, participantsare chosen scientifically by a random selection of telephone numbersand residential addresses. Persons in selected households are theninvited by telephone or by mail to participate in the web-enabledKnowledgePanel(R). For those who agree to participate, but do notalready have Internet access, Knowledge Networks provides at no costa laptop and ISP connection. More technical information is availableat http://www.knowledgenetworks.com/ganp/reviewer-info.html.

**These statistics are sourced to Make Roads Safe - The Campaignfor Global Road safety, at www.makeroadssafe.org

For more information about the survey and other materials visitwww.AAAFoundation.org.

Established in 1947 by AAA, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safetyis an independent, publicly funded, 501(c)(3) charitable researchand educational organization. The AAA Foundation's mission is toprevent traffic deaths and injuries by conducting research intotheir causes and by educating the public about strategies to preventcrashes and reduce injuries when they do occur. Additionalinformation about the Foundation's effort to improve traffic safetyculture can be found at AAAFoundation.org.

As North America's largest motoring and leisure travelorganization, AAA provides more than 52 million members with travel,insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since itsfounding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has beena leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers.AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com. Stay connectedwith AAA via @AAASafety.

SOURCE AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety