U.S. lags in reducing serious auto accidents.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Brief article

The U.S. is missing significant opportunities to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries, and could save lives by implementing a more rigorous and comprehensive program that adopts safety practices from other countries, maintains a report by the National Research Council, Washington, D.C. A committee reviewed traffic safety practices and strategies in high-income countries around the world and compared them with those in the U.S. From 1995-2009, fatalities dropped 52% in France, 38% in the United Kingdom, 25% in Australia, and 50% in 15 other nations for which long-term fatality and traffic data is available, but only 19% in America.

Two enforcement tools widely credited with fatality reductions in other countries--automatic enforcement of speed limits and frequent roadside sobriety checks--are not common in the U.S. because of legal restrictions, popular opposition, and cost considerations.

The report estimates, on the basis of evaluations in the U.S. and other countries, that, nationwide, sustained or...