Dive Brief:
- Democratic members of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure committee held a press conference Wednesday to highlight roadway safety issues and traffic deaths.
- Individuals personally affected by vehicular tragedies joined committee members in calling for road designs that increase safety for pedestrians and bicyclists and commended the Transportation Department’s national roadway safety strategy.
- Also Wednesday, the National Safety Council, an advocacy group, released a survey in which 83% of respondents said they support their local government doing more to improve road safety.
Dive Insight:
Nearly 41,000 people died in roadway-related accidents in 2023, the third straight year traffic deaths exceeded 40,000. Although the 2023 number represented a 3.6% decrease from the prior year, “the loss of one life is too many,” said Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., ranking member of the committee, at the press event.
The NSC survey found that nearly 75% of participants expressed moderate or greater concern about their safety and the safety of their friends and family on the roads.
Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., called out the issue of impaired driving, which he said accounts for 30% of all traffic-related deaths, citing data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Pappas pointed to legislation he introduced calling for ignition interlock devices to be installed in motor vehicles. These are handheld breathalyzers that test for the presence of alcohol in the driver’s breath and prevent the vehicle from starting if alcohol is detected.
Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., urged greater use of automated red-light and stop-sign cameras “to curb bad driving behavior” and more focus on designing roads for pedestrians and bicyclists “instead of only designing roads to make our cars go as fast as they can go.”
“Traffic deaths are predictable and therefore preventable,” said Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Ohio. Sykes and Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, jointly introduced the Save Our Pedestrians Act this year, which would provide federal funding for crosswalks, roundabouts, sidewalks and other infrastructure.
Distracted driving was cited as another cause of traffic deaths. Jennifer Smith, CEO of StopDistractions.org, a grassroots advocacy organization, said, “Too many people are on their phones when driving and not thinking of the consequences.” Smith lost her mother to a distracted driver, she said at the press conference.
