Tougher road laws

California ranks high among states for strong roadway safety laws, but it needs tougher legislation for child passengers, teen motorists and repeat impaired drivers, according to a report released Monday. Sue Doyle in the Daily News.

If California cranked up requirements with these laws, some of the state's 3,974 roadway deaths in 2007 - at a cost of $20.66 billion - could have been prevented, said Judith Lee Stone, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.

"It's incumbent on all of us to do whatever we can to save these lives," said Stone of the Washington, D.C.-based coalition. "The wait is killing us."