Notice2025-09990
Highway Safety Program Guidelines
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 3, 2025
Effective
June 3, 2025
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Abstract
This notice revises four of the existing highway safety uniform guidelines to better reflect NHTSA's commitment to promoting highway safety programs that are based on traffic safety data. The revisions will also align these guidelines with a recent Executive order. The guidelines are Guideline No. 7: Judicial and Court Services; Guideline No. 8: Impaired Driving; Guideline No. 12: Prosecutor Training; Guideline No. 20: Occupant Protection.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 105 (Tuesday, June 3, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 3, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23598-23606]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-09990]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Highway Safety Program Guidelines
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation.
SUMMARY: This notice revises four of the existing highway safety
uniform guidelines to better reflect NHTSA's commitment to promoting
highway safety programs that are based on traffic safety data. The
revisions will also align these guidelines with a recent Executive
order. The guidelines are Guideline No. 7: Judicial and Court Services;
Guideline No. 8: Impaired Driving; Guideline No. 12: Prosecutor
Training; Guideline No. 20: Occupant Protection.
DATES: The revised guidelines become effective on June 3, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jane Terry, Director, Office of
Impaired Driving and Occupant Protection, NPD-100, National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington,
DC 20590; Telephone: (202) 366-0179, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c9a3a8a7ace7bdacbbbbb089ada6bde7aea6bf"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0c666d62692278697e7e754c686378226b637a">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Section 402 of title 23 of the United States Code requires the
Secretary of Transportation to promulgate uniform guidelines for State
highway safety programs.\1\ The uniform guidelines serve as a resource
that States can use in formulating their highway safety programs
supported with section 402 and section 405 grant funds as well as
safety activities funded from other sources. The guidelines provide a
framework for developing a balanced highway safety program and serve as
a tool with which States can assess the effectiveness of their own
programs. Uniform Guideline Number 20: Occupant Protection serves as
the basis for NHTSA-facilitated occupant protection program assessments
that many States rely on to improve their programs and to apply for
Section 405(b) Occupant Protection Grant funds. Uniform Guideline
Number 7: Judicial and Court Services, Number 8: Impaired Driving, and
Number 12: Prosecutor Training serve as the basis for NHTSA-facilitated
impaired driving program assessments that some States rely on to
improve their programs and to apply for Section 405(d) Impaired Driving
Countermeasures Grant funds. NHTSA encourages States to use these
guidelines and build upon them to optimize the effectiveness of highway
safety programs conducted at the State and local levels.
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\1\ This responsibility is delegated to NHTSA at 49 CFR 1.95(e).
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Under the recent Executive Order 14151 (Order), ``Ending Radical
and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,'' agencies are
instructed to align agency guidance with the policy set forth in that
Order. NHTSA makes limited technical revisions to four of the uniform
guidelines to meet the requirements of the Order. These limited
revisions shift focus away from broad references to demographic or
diverse groups and towards at-risk populations and State safety needs
as identified by highway safety data. At-risk populations are any group
that is at increased risk of serious injury or death from a traffic
crash. The impacted uniform guidelines are Guideline No. 7: Judicial
and Court Services (March 2009); Guideline No. 8: Impaired Driving
(November 2006); Guideline No. 12: Prosecutor Training (March 2009);
and Guideline No. 20: Occupant Protection (November 2006).
NHTSA reminds States that the guidance provided in these Uniform
Guidelines is not legally binding in its own right and will not be
relied upon by the Department as a separate basis for affirmative
enforcement action or other administrative penalty. Conformity with the
guidance document (as distinct from existing statutes and regulations)
is voluntary only, and nonconformity will not affect rights and
obligations under existing statues and regulations.
The revised guidelines are printed in full below. All highway
safety guidelines are available on NHTSA's website at <a href="https://www.nhtsa.gov/laws-regulations/guidance-documents">https://www.nhtsa.gov/laws-regulations/guidance-documents</a>.
Highway Safety Program Guideline No. 7 Judicial and Court Services
(March 2025)
Each State, in cooperation with political subdivisions and Tribal
governments, should develop and implement a comprehensive, highway
safety program, reflective of State traffic safety needs, as identified
by the data, to achieve a significant reduction in traffic crashes,
fatalities, and injuries on public roads. Each State should have a
comprehensive judicial services program as part of its overall highway
safety program. Such judicial services programs should support courts
in the competent and effective adjudication of both administrative and
statutory law cases. Judicial services programs should, consistent with
ethical and professional requirements, promote judicial outreach
activity to reduce traffic crashes and resultant fatalities and
injuries. This document describes the four key components of State
judicial services programs and the specific activities needed to
implement those components. Additional information on judicial outreach
is addressed in Highway Safety Guideline No. 8, Impaired Driving.
I. Program Management
Program planning, implementation, and coordination are essential
for achieving and sustaining State traffic enforcement and adjudication
functions. The State Highway Safety Office (SHSO), in conjunction with
State and local court administrators, chief judges, and judicial
educators should ensure that State traffic safety judicial education
programs are well planned and coordinated. State SHSOs should provide
leadership, training, and technical assistance to:
<bullet> Implement and integrate regular traffic law and safety-
related judicial education in judicial education programs for all
judges;
<bullet> Generate broad-based support for traffic safety programs
by informing all stakeholders, including court administrators and the
judges they serve, of comprehensive highway safety plans for traffic
enforcement;
<bullet> Coordinate traffic safety programs to include Commercial
Motor Vehicle (CMV) safety activities such as the Motor Carrier Safety
Assistance Program;
<bullet> Promote the dissemination of NHTSA-supported judicial
traffic safety and education courses through coordination with State
judicial educators and nationally based
[[Page 23599]]
institutions such as the National Center for State Courts, National
Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and the National Judicial
College; and
<bullet> Support the development and ethical implementation of
judicial education programs for State, local, administrative, and
Tribal courts that will accomplish the following objectives:
[cir] Utilize enabling legislation and regulations to provide the
public with effective and efficient court services;
[cir] Provide the impetus for judges to be thoroughly educated on
all facets of motor vehicle law;
[cir] Develop cooperative relationships with other government
branches, agencies, and entities, as well as community organizations
and traffic safety stakeholders; and
[cir] Establish qualitative and quantitative performance measures
by which the delivery of services can be evaluated.
II. Resource Management
The SHSO should coordinate with the courts to develop plans that
identify the resources necessary to effectively provide efficient
traffic law-related services throughout the criminal justice system.
The plans should include specific components concerning the allocation
of funding, personnel, and facilities and:
<bullet> Periodic assessment of traffic law-related service
demands, and the resources needed to serve the needs of the public;
<bullet> Development of traffic law-related court service plans
that address budgetary requirements, staff allocation, and facilities
requirements; and
<bullet> Employment of efficient accounting and data processing
systems to facilitate prompt and accurate generation, retrieval, and
sharing of information and records.
III. Training and Education
Training and education are essential to support and maintain the
delivery of traffic law-related services by the judicial branch of
government. To be effective adjudicators, and serve the needs of the
public, judges must receive regular education and training of the
highest caliber. Judicial education and training should be promoted
and, where appropriate, presented by the SHSO or other training
entities with experienced faculties in the area of traffic safety,
including law and procedure. Judicial education and training should be:
<bullet> Adequately funded and where possible compulsory as a
requirement to maintaining service in office;
<bullet> Provided by State or nationally based judicial education
and training entities with experienced faculties in area of traffic-
related law and procedure;
<bullet> Inclusive of education components consistent with models
developed by the American Bar Association, for example the Code of
Judicial Ethics and the Rules of Professional Conduct;
<bullet> Inclusive of case management components so as to foster
productivity and the prompt and efficient disposition of cases;
<bullet> Specialized as to curriculum so as to address the needs of
both statutory and administrative judges as well as hearing officers;
and
<bullet> Assessed regularly so as to ensure that education
components address specialized traffic enforcement skills, techniques,
or programs such as DWI/Drug Courts.
IV. Data and Evaluation
The SHSO, in conjunction with court administrators, should develop
a comprehensive evaluation program to measure progress toward
established project goals and objectives. Utilizing comprehensive
evaluation programs, the SHSO should effectively plan and implement
statewide, county, local, and Tribal traffic safety programs. Such
programs should have as objectives the optimization of limited resource
allocation and should measure the impact of traffic enforcement on
court resources. Data that are collected should include case
disposition summaries and reports, and other relevant workload
information. Court administrators should:
<bullet> Include evaluation components in initial program planning
so as to ensure that data will be available for evaluation;
<bullet> Ensure that adequate resources and personnel are allocated
to program planning and data collection;
<bullet> Regularly report results of program evaluations to project
and program managers, legislative decision-makers, and to the public;
<bullet> Utilize results to guide future activities and to assess
in justifying resources to governing bodies;
<bullet> Conduct surveys to assist in determining court and program
effectiveness, including surveys that measure public knowledge and
attitudes about court programs;
<bullet> Evaluate the effectiveness of services provided in support
of priority safety programs; and
<bullet> Maintain and report court generated data to appropriate
repositories through the use of effective records programs that:
[cir] Provide records rapidly and accurately;
[cir] Provide routine compilations of data for management use in
the decision-making process;
[cir] Provide data for operational planning and execution;
[cir] Interface with a variety of data systems, including statewide
traffic safety records systems that are accessible by other State and
local governmental entities, agencies, and courts;
[cir] Provide for the evidentiary integrity of information so as to
insure its admissibility in subsequent court and administrative hearing
proceedings; and
[cir] Work with court administrators to use the traffic court
functional standards that are available through the National Center for
State Courts.
Highway Safety Program Guideline No. 8 Impaired Driving (March 2025)
Each State, in cooperation with its political subdivisions and
Tribal governments and other parties as appropriate, should develop and
implement a comprehensive highway safety program, reflective of State
traffic safety needs, as identified by the data, to achieve a
significant reduction in traffic crashes, fatalities, and injuries on
public roads. The highway safety program should include an impaired
driving component that addresses highway safety activities related to
impaired driving. (Throughout this guideline, the term impaired driving
means operating a motor vehicle while affected by alcohol and/or other
drugs, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, or
illicit substances.) This guideline describes the components that a
State impaired driving program should include and the criteria that the
program components should meet.
I. Program Management and Strategic Planning
An effective impaired driving program should be based on strong
leadership, sound policy development, program management and strategic
planning, and an effective communication program. Program efforts
should be data-driven, focusing on populations and geographic areas
that are most at risk, and science-based, determined through
independent evaluation as likely to succeed. Programs and activities
should be guided by problem identification and carefully managed and
monitored for effectiveness. Adequate resources should be devoted to
the problem and costs should be borne, to the extent possible, by
impaired drivers. Each
[[Page 23600]]
State should include the following as part of its impaired driving
program:
<bullet> Task Forces or Commissions: Convene Driving While Impaired
(DWI) task forces or commissions to foster leadership, commitment, and
coordination among all parties interested in impaired driving issues,
including both traditional and non-traditional parties, such as highway
safety enforcement, criminal justice, driver licensing, treatment,
liquor law enforcement, business, medical, health care, advocacy
groups, the media, institutions of higher education, and the military.
<bullet> Strategic Planning: Develop and implement an overall plan
for short- and long-term impaired driving activities based on careful
problem identification.
<bullet> Program Management: Establish procedures to ensure that
program activities are implemented as intended.
<bullet> Resources: Allocate sufficient funding, staffing, and
other resources to support impaired driving programs. Programs should
aim for self-sufficiency and, to the extent possible, costs should be
borne by impaired drivers.
<bullet> Data and Records: Establish and maintain a records system
that uses data from other sources (e.g., U.S. Census, Fatality Analysis
Reporting System [FARS], Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System [CODES])
to fully support the impaired driving program, and that is guided by a
statewide traffic records coordinating committee (TRCC) that represents
the interests of all public and private sector stakeholders and the
wide range of disciplines that need the information.
<bullet> Communication Program: Develop and implement a
comprehensive communications program that supports priority policies
and program efforts and is directed at impaired driving; underage
drinking; and reducing the risk of injury, death, and resulting
medical, legal, social, and other costs.
II. Prevention
Prevention programs should aim to reduce impaired driving through
public health approaches, including altering social norms, changing
risky or dangerous behaviors, and creating safer environments.
Prevention programs should promote communication strategies that
highlight and support specific policies and program activities and
promote activities that educate the public on the effects of alcohol
and other drugs, limit the availability of alcohol and other drugs, and
discourage those impaired by alcohol and other drugs from driving.
Prevention programs may include responsible alcohol service
practices, transportation alternatives, and community-based programs
carried out in schools, work sites, medical and health care facilities,
and by community coalitions. Prevention efforts should be directed
toward populations at greatest risk. Programs and activities should be
science-based and proven effective and include a communication
component. Each State should:
<bullet> Promote Responsible Alcohol Service: Promote policies and
practices that prevent underage drinking by people under age 21 and
over-service to people age 21 and older.
<bullet> Promote Transportation Alternatives: Promote alternative
transportation programs, such as designated driver and safe ride
programs, especially during high-risk times, which enable drinkers age
21 and older to reach their destinations without driving.
<bullet> Conduct Community-Based Programs: Conduct community-based
programs that implement prevention strategies at the local level
through a variety of settings, including schools, employers, medical
and health care professionals, community coalitions and traffic safety
programs.
[cir] Schools: School-based prevention programs, beginning in
elementary school and continuing through college and trade school,
should play a critical role in preventing underage drinking and
impaired driving. These programs should be developmentally appropriate,
relevant to at-risk populations and coordinated with drug prevention
and health promotion programs.
[cir] Employers: States should provide information and technical
assistance to employers and encourage employers to offer programs to
reduce underage drinking and impaired driving by employees and their
families.
[cir] Community Coalitions and Traffic Safety Programs: Community
coalitions and traffic safety programs should provide the opportunity
to conduct prevention programs collaboratively with other interested
parties at the local level and provide communications toolkits for
local media relations, advertising, and public affairs activities.
Coalitions may include representatives of government such as highway
safety; enforcement; criminal justice; liquor law enforcement; public
health; driver licensing and education; business, including employers
and unions; the military; medical, health care and treatment
communities; at-risk, faith-based, advocacy and other community groups;
and neighboring counties, as appropriate.
III. Criminal Justice System
Each State should use the various components of its criminal
justice system--laws, enforcement, prosecution, adjudication, criminal
and administrative sanctions, and communications--to achieve both
specific and general deterrence.
Specific deterrence focuses on individual offenders and seeks to
ensure that impaired drivers will be detected, arrested, prosecuted,
and subject to swift, sure, and appropriate sanctions. Using these
measures, the criminal justice system seeks to reduce recidivism.
General deterrence seeks to increase the public perception that
impaired drivers will face severe consequences, discouraging
individuals from driving impaired.
A multidisciplinary approach and close coordination among all
components of the criminal justice system are needed to make the system
work effectively. In addition, coordination is needed among law
enforcement agencies at the State, county, municipal, and Tribal levels
to create and sustain both specific and general deterrence.
A. Laws
Each State should enact impaired driving laws that are sound,
rigorous, and easy to enforce and administer. The laws should clearly
define offenses, contain provisions that facilitate effective
enforcement, and establish effective consequences. The laws should
define offenses to include:
<bullet> Driving while impaired by alcohol or other drugs (whether
illegal, prescription or over-the-counter) and treating both offenses
similarly;
<bullet> Driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit of
.08 grams per deciliter, making it illegal ``per se'' to operate a
vehicle at or above this level without having to prove impairment;
<bullet> Driving with a high BAC (i.e., .15 BAC or greater) with
enhanced sanctions above the standard impaired driving offense;
<bullet> Zero Tolerance for underage drivers, making it illegal
``per se'' for people under age 21 to drive with any measurable amount
of alcohol in their system (i.e., .02 BAC or greater);
<bullet> Repeat offender with increasing sanctions for each
subsequent offense;
<bullet> BAC test refusal with sanctions at least as strict or
stricter than a high BAC offense;
<bullet> Driving with a license suspended or revoked for impaired
driving, with vehicular homicide or causing personal injury while
driving impaired as
[[Page 23601]]
separate offenses with additional sanctions;
<bullet> Open container laws, prohibiting possession or consumption
of any open alcoholic beverage in the passenger area of a motor vehicle
located on a public highway or right-of-way (limited exceptions are
permitted under 23 U.S.C. 154 and its implementing regulations, 23 CFR
part 1270); and
<bullet> Primary seat belt provisions that do not require that
officers observe or cite a driver for a separate offense other than a
seat belt violation.
The laws should include provisions to facilitate effective
enforcement that:
<bullet> Authorize law enforcement to conduct sobriety checkpoints,
(i.e., stop vehicles on a nondiscriminatory basis to determine whether
operators are driving while impaired by alcohol or other drugs);
<bullet> Authorize law enforcement to use passive alcohol sensors
to improve the detection of alcohol in drivers;
<bullet> Authorize law enforcement to obtain more than one chemical
test from an operator suspected of impaired driving, including
preliminary breath tests, evidential breath tests, and screening and
confirmatory tests for alcohol or other impairing drugs; and
<bullet> Require law enforcement to conduct mandatory BAC testing
of drivers involved in fatal crashes.
The laws should establish effective penalties that include:
<bullet> Administrative license suspension or revocation for
failing or refusing to submit to a BAC or other drug test;
<bullet> Prompt and certain administrative license suspension of at
least 90 days for first-time offenders determined by chemical test(s)
to have a BAC at or above the State's ``per se'' level or of at least
15 days followed immediately by a restricted, provisional or
conditional license for at least 75 days, if such license restricts the
offender to operating only vehicles equipped with an ignition
interlock;
<bullet> Enhanced penalties for BAC test refusals, high BAC, repeat
offenders, driving with a suspended or revoked license, driving
impaired with a minor in the vehicle, vehicular homicide, or causing
personal injury while driving impaired, including longer license
suspension or revocation; installation of ignition interlock devices;
license plate confiscation; vehicle impoundment, immobilization or
forfeiture; intensive supervision and electronic monitoring; and threat
of imprisonment;
<bullet> Assessment for alcohol or other drug abuse problems for
all impaired driving offenders and, as appropriate, treatment,
abstention from use of alcohol and other drugs, and frequent
monitoring; and
<bullet> Driver license suspension for people under age 21 for any
violation of law involving the use or possession of alcohol or illicit
drugs.
B. Enforcement
Each State should conduct frequent, highly visible, well
publicized, and fully coordinated impaired driving (including zero
tolerance) law enforcement efforts throughout the State, especially in
locations where alcohol-related fatalities most often occur. To
maximize visibility, States should maximize contact between officers
and drivers using sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols and
should widely publicize these efforts--before, during, and after they
occur. Highly visible, highly publicized efforts should be conducted
periodically and also on a sustained basis throughout the year. To
maximize resources, the State should coordinate efforts among State,
county, municipal, and Tribal law enforcement agencies. States should
utilize law enforcement liaisons for activities such as promotion of
national and local mobilizations and increasing law enforcement
participation in such mobilizations, and for collaboration with local
chapters of police groups and other local impaired driving prevention
associations to gain support for enforcement efforts.
Each State should coordinate efforts with liquor law enforcement
officials. To increase the probability of detection, arrest, and
prosecution, participating officers should receive training in the
latest law enforcement techniques, including Standardized Field
Sobriety Testing, and selected officers should receive training in
media relations and Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC).
C. Publicizing High Visibility Enforcement
Each State should communicate its impaired driving law enforcement
efforts and other elements of the criminal justice system to increase
the public perception of the risks of detection, arrest, prosecution
and sentencing for impaired driving. Each State should develop and
implement a year-round communications plan that provides emphasis
during periods of heightened enforcement, provides sustained coverage
throughout the year, includes both paid and earned media, and uses
messages consistent with national campaigns. Publicity should be
appropriate to the audience and based on market research.
D. Prosecution
States should implement a comprehensive program to visibly,
aggressively, and effectively prosecute and publicize impaired-driving-
related efforts, including use of experienced prosecutors (e.g.,
traffic safety resource prosecutors), to help coordinate and deliver
training and technical assistance to prosecutors handling impaired
driving cases throughout the State.
E. Adjudication
States should impose effective, appropriate, and research-based
sanctions, followed by close supervision and the threat of harsher
consequences for non-compliance when adjudicating cases. Specifically,
DWI courts should be used to reduce recidivism among repeat and high-
BAC offenders. DWI courts involve all criminal justice stakeholders
(prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation officers, and judges) along
with alcohol and drug treatment professionals and use a cooperative
approach to systematically change participant behavior. The
effectiveness of enforcement and prosecution efforts are strengthened
by knowledgeable, impartial, and effective adjudication. Each State
should provide state-of-the-art education to judges, covering SFST,
DEC, alternative sanctions, and emerging technologies.
Each State should utilize DWI courts to help improve case
management and to provide access to specialized personnel, speeding up
disposition and adjudication. DWI courts also increase access to
testing and assessment to help identify DWI offenders with addiction
problems and to help prevent them from re-offending. DWI courts
additionally help with sentence monitoring and enforcement. Each State
should provide adequate staffing and training for probation programs
with the necessary resources, including technological resources, to
monitor and guide offender behavior.
F. Administrative Sanctions and Driver Licensing Programs
States should use administrative sanctions, including the
suspension or revocation of an offender's driver's license; the
impoundment, immobilization or forfeiture of a vehicle; the impoundment
of a license plate; or the use of ignition interlock devices, which are
among the most effective actions to prevent repeat impaired driving
offenses. In addition, other licensing activities can prove effective
in preventing, deterring and monitoring impaired driving, particularly
among novice drivers. Publicizing related
[[Page 23602]]
efforts is part of a comprehensive communications program.
<bullet> Administrative License Revocation and Vehicle Sanctions:
Each State's Motor Vehicle Code should authorize the imposition of
administrative penalties by the driver licensing agency upon arrest for
violation of the State's impaired driving laws, including
administrative driver's license suspension, vehicle sanctions and
installation of ignition interlock devices.
<bullet> Programs: Each State's driver licensing agency should
conduct programs that reinforce and complement the State's overall
program to deter and prevent impaired driving, including graduated
driver licensing (GDL) for novice drivers, education programs that
explain alcohol's effects on driving, the State's zero-tolerance laws,
and a program to prevent individuals from using a fraudulently obtained
or altered driver's license.
IV. Communication Program
States should develop and implement a comprehensive communication
program that supports priority policies and program efforts.
Communication programs and material should be designed to reach at-risk
populations and be provided in languages other than English as
appropriate. States should:
<bullet> Develop and implement a year-round communication plan that
includes policy and program priorities; comprehensive research;
behavioral and communications objectives; core message platforms;
campaigns that are audience-relevant and linguistically appropriate;
key alliances with private and public partners; specific activities for
advertising, media relations, and public affairs; special emphasis
periods during high-risk times; and evaluation and survey tools;
<bullet> Employ a communications strategy principally focused on
increasing knowledge and awareness, changing attitudes, and influencing
and sustaining appropriate behavior;
<bullet> Use traffic-related data and market research to identify
specific audience segments to maximize resources and effectiveness; and
<bullet> Adopt a comprehensive marketing approach that coordinates
elements like media relations, advertising, and public affairs/
advocacy.
V. Alcohol and Other Drug Misuse: Screening, Assessment, Treatment and
Rehabilitation
Impaired driving frequently is a symptom of a larger alcohol or
other drug problem. Many first-time impaired driving offenders and most
repeat offenders have alcohol or other drug abuse or dependency
problems. Without appropriate assessment and treatment, these offenders
are more likely to repeat their crimes.
In addition, alcohol use leads to other injuries and health care
problems. Frequent visits to emergency departments present an
opportunity for intervention, which might prevent future arrests or
motor vehicle crashes, and result in decreased alcohol consumption and
improved health.
Each State should encourage its employers, educators, and health
care professionals to implement a system to identify, intervene, and
refer individuals for appropriate substance abuse treatment.
<bullet> Screening and Assessment: Each State should encourage its
employers, educators, and health care professionals to have a
systematic program to screen and/or assess drivers to determine whether
they have an alcohol or drug abuse problem and, as appropriate, briefly
intervene or refer them for appropriate treatment. A marketing campaign
should promote year-round screening and brief intervention to medical,
health, and business partners and to identified audiences. In
particular:
[cir] Criminal Justice System: Within the criminal justice system,
people convicted of an impaired driving offense should be assessed to
determine whether they have an alcohol or drug abuse problem and
whether they need treatment. The assessment should be required by law
and completed prior to sentencing or reaching a plea agreement.
[cir] Medical and Health Care Settings: Within medical or health
care settings, any adults or adolescents seen by medical or health care
professionals should be screened to determine whether they may have an
alcohol or drug abuse problem. A person may have a problem with alcohol
abuse or dependence, a brief intervention should be conducted and, if
appropriate, the person should be referred for assessment and further
treatment.
<bullet> Treatment and Rehabilitation: Each State should work with
health care professionals, public health departments, and third-party
payers to establish and maintain treatment programs for persons
referred through the criminal justice system, medical or health care
professionals, and other entities. This will help ensure that offenders
with alcohol or other drug dependencies begin appropriate treatment and
complete recommended treatment before their licenses are reinstated.
<bullet> Monitoring Impaired Drivers: Each State should establish a
program to facilitate close monitoring of impaired drivers. Controlled
input and access to an impaired driver tracking system, with
appropriate security protections, is essential. Monitoring functions
should be housed in the driver licensing, judicial, corrections, and
treatment systems. Monitoring systems should be able to determine the
status of all offenders in meeting their sentencing requirements for
sanctions and/or rehabilitation and must be able to alert courts to
noncompliance. Monitoring requirements should be established by law to
assure compliance with sanctions by offenders and responsiveness of the
judicial system. Noncompliant offenders should be handled swiftly
either judicially or administratively. Many localities are successfully
utilizing DWI courts or drug courts to monitor DWI offenders.
VI. Program Evaluation and Data
Each State should have access to and analyze reliable data sources
for problem identification and program planning. Each State should
conduct several different types of evaluations to effectively measure
progress, to determine program effectiveness, to plan and implement new
program strategies, and to ensure that resources are allocated
appropriately.
Each State should establish and maintain a records system that uses
data from other sources (e.g., U.S. Census, FARS, CODES) to fully
support the impaired driving program. A statewide traffic records
coordinating committee that represents the interests of all public and
private sector stakeholders and the wide range of disciplines that need
the information should guide the records system.
<bullet> Each State's driver licensing agency should maintain a
system of records that enables the State to: (1) identify impaired
drivers; (2) maintain a complete driving history of impaired drivers;
(3) receive timely and accurate arrest and conviction data from law
enforcement agencies and the courts, including data on operators as
prescribed by the commercial driver licensing regulations; and (4)
provide timely and accurate driver history records to law enforcement
and the courts.
Highway Safety Program Guideline No. 12 Prosecutor Training (March
2025)
Each State, in cooperation with its political subdivisions and
Tribal governments, should develop and implement a comprehensive
highway safety program, reflective of State traffic safety needs, as
identified by the data, to achieve a significant reduction in
[[Page 23603]]
traffic crashes, fatalities, and injuries on public roads. All programs
should include a comprehensive prosecutorial training program that
supports prosecutors in the prosecution of traffic-related cases.
Prosecutorial training programs should be consistent with ethical and
professional requirements in addition to addressing training and
technical assistance needs. These programs should encourage prosecutors
to make the prosecution of traffic-related cases a high priority. This
guideline describes the key components that a State program should
include and the minimum criteria that the program components should
meet. Additional information on prosecutor outreach is addressed in
Highway Safety Guideline No. 8, Impaired Driving.
I. Program Management
Program planning, implementation, and coordination are essential
for achieving and sustaining high-quality State traffic enforcement and
prosecution functions. The State Highway Safety Office (SHSO), in
conjunction with State prosecutor associations, Prosecutor
Coordinators, and Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutors (TSRP) should
ensure that State traffic safety programs are comprehensive, well
planned, and coordinated. State SHSOs should provide leadership,
training, and technical assistance to their State's prosecutors. In
doing so, the SHSOs should:
<bullet> Communicate and coordinate with State prosecutor
coordinators and TSRPs regarding comprehensive highway safety plans for
traffic enforcement so they can generate broad-based prosecutorial
support for traffic safety programs;
<bullet> Assist State prosecutor coordinators and TSRPs in
implementing regular traffic law and safety-related prosecutor training
programs;
<bullet> Provide support and assistance to State prosecutor
coordinators and TSRPs for training and technical assistance that
prosecutors need to effectively prosecute impaired driving and other
traffic-related cases; and
<bullet> Evaluate the delivery of training and technical assistance
through established qualitative and quantitative measures.
II. Resource Management
The SHSO should encourage prosecutors to develop plans that
identify those resources necessary to provide efficient traffic law-
related services that include:
<bullet> Periodic assessment of traffic law-related service
demands, and the resources needed to serve the needs of prosecution and
the public.
<bullet> Development of traffic law-related prosecutor resource
management plans that address budgetary requirements, staff allocation,
and facilities requirements.
<bullet> Employment of efficient accounting and data processing
systems to facilitate prompt and accurate generation, retrieval, and
sharing of information and records.
II. Training and Technical Assistance
Training and technical assistance are essential to support the
delivery of high-quality traffic law-related prosecution. To
effectively serve the needs of law enforcement, victims, and the
public, prosecutors must receive regular, consistent training and have
available to them individuals who can provide technical assistance in a
competent and efficient manner. To this end, the SHSO should:
<bullet> Encourage the implementation of the TSRP program;
<bullet> Provide Prosecutor Coordinators and TSRPs with advanced
education and training in the area of traffic-related law and procedure
so as to enhance delivery of training and technical assistance to local
prosecutors, law enforcement officers, advocacy groups, and other
traffic safety professionals;
<bullet> Assist and support prosecutor coordinators in providing
traffic law and safety-related training programs to the State's
prosecutors;
<bullet> Include development and delivery of specialized curriculum
to address the needs of both experienced and inexperienced prosecutors
handling complex impaired-driving and other traffic prosecutions;
<bullet> Encourage consistent training and technical assistance
through the prosecutor coordinators to address high turnover rates in
prosecutor offices; and
<bullet> Include case management components to foster prompt and
effective prosecution of traffic cases.
IV. Data and Evaluation
The SHSO, in conjunction with the prosecutor coordinator and the
TSRP, should develop a comprehensive evaluation program to measure
progress toward established project goals and objectives. Using
comprehensive evaluation strategies, the SHSO should effectively plan
and implement statewide, county, and local traffic safety training
programs. Collected data should include training programs attended,
technical assistance requested and received, and other workload
information. The evaluation results should be used to maximize limited
resources and measure the impact of such training and assistance on
prosecutorial resources and the ability to effectively prosecute
traffic cases. The SHSO should make sure that Prosecutor Coordinators
or TSRPs:
<bullet> Include evaluation components in initial program planning
to ensure that data will be available for analysis;
<bullet> Ensure that adequate resources and personnel are allocated
to program planning and data collection;
<bullet> Regularly report results of program evaluations to project
managers, program managers, and legislative decision-makers;
<bullet> Utilize results to guide future activities and assess
resource allocation; and
<bullet> Evaluate the effectiveness of services provided in support
of priority traffic safety programs.
Highway Safety Program Guideline No. 20 Occupant Protection (March
2025)
Each State, in cooperation with its political subdivisions, Tribal
governments, and other parties as appropriate, should develop and
implement a comprehensive highway safety program, reflective of State
traffic safety needs as identified by the data, to achieve a
significant reduction in traffic crashes, fatalities, and injuries on
public roads. The highway safety program should include a comprehensive
occupant protection program that educates and motivates the public to
properly use available motor vehicle occupant protection systems. A
combination of legislation and use requirements, enforcement,
communication, education, and incentive strategies is necessary to
achieve significant, lasting increases in seat belt and child safety
seat usage. This guideline describes the components that a State
occupant protection program should include and the criteria that the
program components should meet.
I. Program Management
Each State should have centralized program planning,
implementation, and coordination to achieve and sustain high rates of
seat belt use. Evaluation should be used to revise existing programs,
develop new programs and determine progress and success. The State
Highway Safety Office (SHSO) should:
<bullet> Provide leadership, training and technical assistance to
other State agencies and local occupant protection programs and
projects;
<bullet> Establish and convene an occupant protection advisory task
force or coalition to organize and generate
[[Page 23604]]
broad-based support for programs. The coalition should include agencies
and organizations that represent at-risk populations and are critical
to the implementation of occupant protection initiatives;
<bullet> Integrate occupant protection programs into community/
corridor traffic safety and other injury prevention programs; and
<bullet> Evaluate the effectiveness of the State's occupant
protection program.
II. Legislation, Regulation and Policy
Each State should enact and enforce occupant protection use laws,
regulations, and policies to provide clear guidance to the public
concerning motor vehicle occupant protection systems. This legal
framework should include:
<bullet> Legislation permitting primary enforcement that requires
all motor vehicle occupants to use systems provided by the vehicle
manufacturer;
<bullet> Legislation permitting primary enforcement that requires
that children from birth to 16 years old (or the State's driving age)
be properly restrained in an appropriate child restraint system (i.e.,
certified by the manufacturer to meet all applicable Federal safety
standards) or seat belt;
<bullet> Legislation permitting primary enforcement that requires
children under 13 years old to be properly restrained in the rear seat
(unless all available rear seats are occupied by younger children);
<bullet> Graduated driver licensing laws that include three stages
of licensure, and that place restrictions and sanctions on high-risk
driving situations for novice drivers (i.e., nighttime driving
restrictions, passenger restrictions, zero tolerance, required seat
belt use);
<bullet> Regulations requiring employees and contractors at all
levels of government to wear safety belts when traveling on official
business;
<bullet> Official policies requiring that organizations receiving
Federal highway safety program grant funds develop and enforce an
employee seat belt use policy; and
<bullet> Encouragement to motor vehicle insurers to offer economic
incentives for policyholders who wear seat belts and secure children in
child safety seats or other appropriate restraints.
III. Enforcement Program
Each State should conduct frequent, high-visibility law enforcement
efforts, coupled with communication strategies, to increase seat belt
and child safety seat use. Essential components of a law enforcement
program include:
<bullet> Written, enforced seat belt use policies for law
enforcement agencies with sanctions for noncompliance to protect law
enforcement officers from harm and for officers to serve as role models
for the motoring public;
<bullet> Vigorous enforcement of seat belt and child safety seat
laws, including citations and warnings;
<bullet> Accurate reporting of occupant protection system
information on police accident report forms, including seat belt and
child safety seat use or nonuse, restraint type, and air bag presence
and deployment;
<bullet> Communication campaigns to inform the public about
occupant protection laws and related enforcement activities;
<bullet> Routine monitoring of citation rates for nonuse of seat
belts and child safety seats;
<bullet> Use of National Child Passenger Safety Certification
(basic and in-service) for law enforcement officers; and
<bullet> Utilization of law enforcement liaisons, for activities
such as promotion of national and local mobilizations and increasing
law enforcement participation in such mobilizations and collaboration
with local chapters of police groups and associations that represent
at-risk populations to gain support for enforcement efforts.
IV. Communication Program
As part of each State's communication program, the State should
enlist the support of a variety of media, including mass media, to
improve public awareness and knowledge and to support enforcement
efforts about seat belts, air bags, and child safety seats.
Communication programs and materials should be designed to reach at-
risk populations, as appropriate. To sustain or increase rates of seat
belt and child safety seat use, a well-organized, effectively managed
communication program should:
<bullet> Identify at-risk audiences (e.g., low-belt-use, high-risk
motorists) and develop messages appropriate for these audiences;
<bullet> Address the enforcement of the State's seat belt and child
passenger safety laws; the safety benefits of regular, correct seat
belt (both manual and automatic) and child safety seat use; and the
additional protection provided by air bags;
<bullet> Capitalize on special events, such as nationally
recognized safety and injury prevention weeks and local enforcement
campaigns;
<bullet> Provide material and media campaigns in more than one
language as necessary;
<bullet> Use national themes and material;
<bullet> Participate in national programs to increase seat belt and
child safety seat use and use law enforcement as the State's
contribution to obtaining national public awareness through
concentrated, simultaneous activity;
<bullet> Utilize paid media, as appropriate;
<bullet> Publicize seat belt use surveys and other relevant
statistics;
<bullet> Encourage news media to report seat belt use and nonuse in
motor vehicle crashes;
<bullet> Involve media representatives in planning and
disseminating communication campaigns;
<bullet> Encourage private sector groups to incorporate seat belt
use messages into their media campaigns;
<bullet> Utilize and involve all media outlets: television, radio,
print, signs, billboards, theaters, sports events, health fairs; and
<bullet> Evaluate all communication campaign efforts.
V. Occupant Protection for Children Program
Each State should enact occupant protection laws that require the
correct restraint of all children, in all seating positions and in
every vehicle. Regulations and policies should exist that provide clear
guidance to the motoring public concerning occupant protection for
children. Each State should require that children from birth to 16
years old (or the State's driving age) be properly restrained in the
appropriate child restraint system or seat belt. Gaps in State child
passenger safety and seat belt laws should be closed to ensure that all
children are covered in all seating positions, with requirements for
age-appropriate child restraint use. Key provisions of the law should
include: driver responsibility for ensuring that children are properly
restrained; proper restraint of children under 13 years of age in the
rear seat (unless all available rear seats are occupied by younger
children); a requirement that passengers be in designated seating
positions, a ban on passengers in the cargo areas of light trucks; and
a limit on the number of passengers based on the number of available
seat belts in the vehicle. To achieve these objectives, State occupant
protection programs for children should:
<bullet> Collect and analyze key data elements in order to evaluate
the program progress;
<bullet> Assure that adequate and accurate training is provided to
the professionals who deliver and enforce the occupant protection
programs for parents and caregivers;
[[Page 23605]]
<bullet> Assure that the capability exists to train and retain
nationally certified child passenger safety technicians to address
attrition of trainers or changes in the population;
<bullet> Promote the use of child restraints and assure that a plan
has been developed to provide an adequate number of inspection stations
and clinics, which meet minimum quality criteria;
<bullet> Continue programs and activities to increase the use of
booster seats by children who outgrow infant or convertible child
safety seats but are still too small to safely use seat belts.
<bullet> Maintain a strong law enforcement program that includes
vigorous enforcement of the child occupant protection laws;
<bullet> Enlist the support of the media to increase public
awareness about child occupant protection laws and the use of child
restraints. Strong efforts should be made to reach at-risk populations;
<bullet> Assure that the child occupant protection programs at the
local level are periodically assessed and that programs are designed to
meet the unique needs of the community;
<bullet> Establish the infrastructure to systematically coordinate
the array of child occupant protection program components;
<bullet> Encourage law enforcement participation in the National
Child Passenger Safety Certification (basic and in-service) training
for law enforcement officers; and
<bullet> Consider carefully crafted and administered child safety
seat subsidy and/or give-away programs.
VI. Outreach Program
Each State should encourage extensive statewide and community
involvement in occupant protection education by involving individuals
and organizations outside the traditional highway safety community.
Representation from the health, business, and education sectors, and
from communities throughout the State, should be encouraged. Community
involvement should broaden public support for the State's programs and
increase a State's ability to deliver highway safety education
programs. To encourage statewide and community involvement, States
should:
<bullet> Establish a coalition or task force of individuals and
organizations to actively promote use of occupant protection systems;
<bullet> Create an effective communications network among coalition
members to keep members informed about issues;
<bullet> Provide relevant material and resources necessary to
conduct occupant protection education programs, especially directed
toward young people, in local settings; and
<bullet> Provide material and resources necessary to conduct
occupant protection education programs, especially for programs
directed toward at-risk populations as indicated by the data.
States should undertake a variety of outreach programs to achieve
statewide and community involvement in occupant protection education,
as described below. Programs should include outreach to at-risk
populations, health and medical communities, schools, and employers.
A. At-Risk Populations
Each State should work closely with individuals and organizations
that represent at-risk populations identified by traffic safety data.
Community leaders and representatives from community groups and
organizations will help States to increase the use of child safety
seats and seat belts. The State should:
<bullet> Evaluate the need for, and provide, if necessary, material
and resources in multiple languages;
<bullet> Collect and analyze data on fatalities and injuries to
identify at-risk populations;
<bullet> Ensure representation of at-risk populations on State
occupant protection coalitions and other work groups;
<bullet> Provide guidance to grantees on conducting outreach
programs designed to reach at-risk populations;
<bullet> Utilize leaders from at-risk populations as spokespeople
to promote seat belt use and child safety seats; and
<bullet> Conduct outreach efforts to at-risk populations during law
enforcement mobilization periods.
B. Health and Medical Communities
Each State should integrate occupant protection into health
programs. The failure of drivers and passengers to use occupant
protection systems is a major public health problem that must be
recognized by the medical and health care communities. The SHSO, the
State Health Department, and other State or local medical organizations
should collaborate in developing programs that:
<bullet> Integrate occupant protection into professional health
training curricula and comprehensive public health planning;
<bullet> Promote occupant protection systems as a health promotion/
injury prevention measure;
<bullet> Require public health and medical personnel to use
available motor vehicle occupant protection systems during work hours;
<bullet> Provide technical assistance and education about the
importance of motor vehicle occupant protection to primary caregivers
(e.g., doctors, nurses, clinic staff);
<bullet> Include questions about seat belt use in health risk
appraisals;
<bullet> Utilize health care providers as visible public
spokespeople for seat belt use and child safety seat use;
<bullet> Provide information about the availability of child safety
seats at, and integrate child safety seat inspections into, maternity
hospitals and other prenatal and natal care centers; and
<bullet> Collect, analyze, and publicize data on additional
injuries and medical expenses resulting from nonuse of occupant
protection devices.
C. Schools
Each State should encourage local school boards and educators to
incorporate occupant protection education into school curricula. The
SHSO in cooperation with the State Department of Education should:
<bullet> Ensure that highway safety and traffic-related injury
control, in general, and occupant protection, in particular, are
included in the State-approved K-12 health and safety education
curricula and textbooks;
<bullet> Establish and enforce written policies requiring that
school employees use seat belts when operating a motor vehicle on the
job;
<bullet> Encourage active promotion of regular seat belt use
through classroom and extracurricular activities as well as in school-
based health clinics;
<bullet> Work with school resource officers to promote seat belt
use among high school students; and
<bullet> Establish and enforce written school policies that require
students driving to and from school to wear seat belts. Violation of
these policies should result in revocation of parking or other campus
privileges for a stated period of time.
D. Employers
Each State and local subdivision should encourage all employers to
require seat belt use on the job as a condition of employment. Private
sector employers should follow the lead of Federal and State government
employers and comply with Executive Order 13043, ``Increasing Seat Belt
Use in the United States,'' as well as all applicable Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administration regulations or Occupational Safety and
Health Administration guidance regarding use of seat belts by private
business employees on the job. All employers should:
[[Page 23606]]
<bullet> Establish and enforce a seat belt use policy with
sanctions for nonuse; and
<bullet> Conduct occupant protection education programs for
employees on their seat belt use policies and the safety benefits of
motor vehicle occupant protection devices.
VII. Data and Program Evaluation
Each State should access and analyze reliable data sources for
problem identification and program planning. Each State should conduct
several different types of evaluation to effectively measure progress
and to plan and implement new program strategies. Program management
should:
<bullet> Conduct and publicize at least one statewide observational
survey of seat belt and child safety seat use annually, ensuring that
it meets current, applicable Federal guidelines;
<bullet> Maintain trend data on child safety seat use, seat belt
use, and air bag deployment in fatal crashes;
<bullet> Identify at-risk populations through observational usage
surveys and crash data;
<bullet> Conduct and publicize statewide surveys of public
knowledge and attitudes about occupant protection laws and systems;
<bullet> Obtain monthly or quarterly data from law enforcement
agencies on the number of seat belt and child passenger safety
citations and convictions;
<bullet> Evaluate the use of program resources and the
effectiveness of existing general communication as well as special/
high-risk population education programs;
<bullet> Obtain data on morbidity, as well as the estimated cost of
crashes, and determine the relation of injury to seat belt use and
nonuse; and
<bullet> Ensure that evaluation results are an integral part of new
program planning and problem identification.
(Authority: 23 U.S.C. 402; 49 CFR 1.95)
Issued in Washington, DC.
Peter Simshauser,
Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2025-09990 Filed 6-2-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
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This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.