California Receives Highest Marks For Traffic Safety Laws In National Survey

SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- California was the only state in
the nation to receive consistently top marks across the board on a recent
ranking of traffic safety laws conducted by the Insurance Institute for
Highway Safety (IIHS). The study examined the strength of traffic safety laws
in six key areas, including: DUI/DWI, young driver licensing, safety belt use,
child restraint use, motorcycle helmet use and red light cameras.

"I am extremely pleased by the results of the IIHS study," said Office of
Traffic Safety Director, Christopher J. Murphy. "We ended 2008 on a very high
note, with seat belt and child safety seat use at an all-time high, plus
alcohol impaired and total traffic fatalities were down significantly. The
synergy between California's traffic safety laws, enforcement, engineering,
emergency medical services, and public awareness are really paying off."

The State's 2008 adult seat belt use rate was 95.7 percent, with teens
buckling up at a rate of 89.6 percent and child safety seat use at 94.4
percent. Total traffic fatalities are projected to be down over 13 percent
from 2007, translating into well over 500 lives saved in just one year.
Although 2008 figures for alcohol impaired fatalities are not yet available,
the 2007 fatality total was down 9.5 percent from the previous year.

California was the only state to receive 'good' ratings in all six categories,
the highest rating possible. Only Delaware, the District of Columbia, Oregon
and Washington received five out of six 'good' scores.

After a nearly two year process, California instituted a Strategic Highway
Safety Plan in September of 2006 to significantly reduce deaths and injuries.
Hundreds of state and local agencies, advocacy groups and private industries
helped develop the plan, which has been integrated into the on-going efforts
of agencies and organizations throughout the state.

"California is on the forefront of every major movement in the nation," said
Murphy. "We are proud to be the leader in traffic safety, since it means that
we are saving lives and protecting futures."

Note: The IIHS comparisons of state laws is available at
http://www.iihs.org/laws/measureup.aspx

SOURCE California Office of Traffic Safety

Chris Cochran, OTS, +1-916-509-3063, cochran@ots.ca.gov