US transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, has announced a roadmap for tackling a “national crisis in roadway fatalities and serious injuries”.
Road deaths declined for many years in the US until the last decade when progress plateaued, however the pandemic has seen fatalities rise.
The new comprehensive National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS) provides concrete steps that the Department of Transportation will take to address the issue.
“We cannot tolerate the continuing crisis of roadway deaths in America,” said Buttigieg.
“These deaths are preventable, and that’s why we’re launching the National Roadway Safety Strategy – a bold, comprehensive plan.”
Key actions from the plan include:
- Working with states and local road owners to build and maintain safer roadway through efforts including: updates to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices; a Complete Streets Initiative to provide technical assistance to communities of all sizes; and speed limit setting.
- Leveraging technology to improve the safety of motor vehicles on our roadways, including rulemaking on automatic emergency braking and pedestrian automatic emergency braking, and updates to the New Car Assessment Program.
- Investing in road safety through including a new $6 billion Safe Streets and Roads for All program, hundreds of millions for behavioral research and interventions, and $4 billion in additional funding for the Highway Safety Improvement Program.
