National Roadway Safety Program Centers Vision Zero at the Federal Level

With traffic fatalities rising in the U.S. despite lower vehicle miles traveled during the pandemic, the federal Department of Transportation has released a national strategy to address traffic safety. As Madeleine Ngo reports, the department plans to work with states and local jurisdictions to direct resources to improving roadways and reducing drunk driving, as well as impose new regulations to improve traffic safety. The plan, known as the National Roadway Safety Strategy, keys in on five areas: "safer people, safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds and post-crash care."

Although questions remain about how much influence federal policy will have on local roadways that are largely controlled by local agencies, the program represents a fundamental shift in priorities. According to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, "The big first here is committing the department to the idea that only zero roadway deaths are acceptable, and then aligning all of our resources around that." 

In an interview with David Zipper, Sec. Buttigieg said the federal government would employ "a mix of carrots and sticks" to hold states accountable for eliminating pedestrian and traffic deaths. Buttigieg emphasized the need for a "comprehensive strategy" that includes not just making cars and roads safer but also encouraging and supporting a mode shift away from private vehicles, which would also reduce congestion and carbon emissions, benefiting all residents.