Federal Government Pushes Collaboration on Road Safety

As part of the 2021 infrastructure law’s call for states to assess road safety and identify strategies for protecting vulnerable road users, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is encouraging states to collaborate more closely with local governments on efforts to make roads safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and others. According to an article by Daniel C. Vock for Route Fifty, “As part of the infrastructure law, states must compile data on vehicle crashes involving non-motorists. They also are required to track demographic data about the people killed in those crashes, and in the areas where the crashes occurred.”

Vock continues, “The highway agency’s 19-page guidance document fleshes out how states can comply with the new reporting mandate. But the recommendations do not have the force of law.” The Biden administration continues to push safety as a key factor that should drive transportation policy moving forward. According to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, “Not just dedicated highway safety dollars but every penny [of state transportation funding] could and should do something about transportation safety.”

The agency’s guidance document encourages states to use a variety of available sources, such as local governments, to gain a more complete understanding of traffic safety issues and the most dangerous roads and intersections.