No State Receives an 'A' for Safety

No state goes far enough to protect its residents from leading causes of preventable deaths and injuries – commonly known as "accidents" – on the road, in homes and communities and at work, according to a National Safety Council report.

Despite preventable deaths being at an all-time high, none of the 50 states or Washington, D.C., earned an "A" for overall safety. The State of Safety details state-by-state issues in a first-of-its-kind comprehensive assessment of how well Americans are protected from risk.

Seven states – Maryland, Illinois, Maine, Oregon, Connecticut, California and Washington – and Washington, D.C., received a "B" overall. Eleven states received an "F" – Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Mississippi, Idaho and Missouri.

Fatalities from poisonings – including drug overdoses – motor vehicle crashes, falls, drowning, choking and fires have increased 7 percent since 2014, claiming 146,571 lives each year, according to Injury Facts® 2017.

"The cultural novocaine has to wear off," said Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. "Safety is no accident. We lose more than 140,000 people because of events we know how to prevent. This report provides states with a blueprint for saving lives, and we hope lawmakers, civic leaders, public health professionals and safety advocates use it to make their communities measurably safer."

The State of Safety assessed states' safety efforts by examining laws, policies and regulations around issues that lead to the most preventable deaths and injuries. In addition to receiving an overall grade, states earned grades in three different sections: Road Safety, Home and Community Safety and Workplace Safety. States were given "On Track", "Developing" and "Off Track" distinctions in all three sections' safety issues.

The five highest and lowest scoring states for road safety are: