New USDOT National Roadway Safety Strategy and FHWA Update to Highway Safety Improvement Program
Source: USDOT
The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg released the National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS), a roadmap for addressing the national crisis in roadway fatalities and serious injuries. Through the comprehensive strategy, the USDOT has committed to a long-term goal of reaching zero fatalities and serious injuries. At its core, the NRSS is a USDOT-wide adoption of the Safe System Approach, focused on five key objectives: safer people, safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds, and post-crash care. One of the key actions of the comprehensive strategy include investing in road safety through funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which includes $4 billion in additional funding for the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced several changes to the HSIP, including more funding and flexibility, and the ability for HSIP funds to be used to incorporate a more data-driven, holistic, and equitable Safe System Approach to roadway safety. The new guidance also includes a Vulnerable Road User Safety Special Rule to help people who walk, bike, and use personal conveyances. Under the rule, if vulnerable road users make up 15% or more of the total number of fatalities in a state in a given year, the state is required to dedicate at least 15% of its HSIP funds the following fiscal year to projects that address the safety of these road users. Additionally, the new guidance incorporates legislative changes to permit 100% Federal funding for certain pedestrian and bicyclist projects.
