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WASHINGTON (AP) — Transport Minister Pete Buttigieg has pledged to help curb rising traffic deaths by issuing a broad-based strategy aimed at reducing speed, redesigning roads and increasing vehicle safety features such as automatic emergency braking.
Buttigieg told The Associated Press that new federal data to be released next week will show another increase in traffic deaths by the third quarter of 2021. While still final, the third-quarter figures were expected to indicate a significant increase in deaths compared to the previous year. It added 20,160 half-year traffic deaths in the same period of 2020, the highest half-year figure since 2006.
“It’s not looking good and I continue to be extremely worried about the trend,” Buttigieg said in a phone interview before the strategy’s release on Thursday.
“Somehow over the years and decades it’s become a normal, sort of cost of doing business,” he said. “Even with an epidemic that is causing significantly less driving, we continue to see more hazards on our roads.”
To prioritize safety, Buttigieg said his department is taking a new “safe system” approach, encouraged by auto safety advocates to support initiatives already underway in various cities that seek to eliminate deaths by considering the entire system rather than just driver behavior.
Over the next two years, he said his ministry will provide guidance and $5 billion in grants to states to encourage lower speed limits and adopt safer road designs such as dedicated bike and bus lanes, better lighting and crosswalks. As roads become safer for cyclists and pedestrians, it opens up public transport options in general and could lead to fewer dangerous cars on the road, he said.
Safe Streets and Roads for All grants, the first of which may be awarded later this year, are included in infrastructure legislation with an additional $4 billion in funding through President Joe Biden’s Highway Safety Improvement Program.
Citing his experience as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Buttigieg said he envisions cities and states to take interim steps with federal support. He pointed to Hoboken, New Jersey, which has made road improvements such as sidewalk extensions and rescheduling traffic signals to get pedestrians a step ahead at crosswalks.
The nationwide road safety strategy released Thursday highlights the increasing trend of accident fatalities, including a disproportionate fatality impact on drivers of color, cyclists and pedestrians.
The pilot programs are calling for scrutiny and encouraging greater use of speed cameras, which the department says could provide fairer enforcement than stopping police traffic. Meanwhile, automakers will be encouraged to adopt more anti-collision features and post detailed information about them for consumers on window stickers for new car sales.
It promises a change in approach at the state and local level, with planned updates to the Federal Handbook on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which in part sets out requirements for US street signs and design. Possibilities include rethinking how speed limits are set. Many cities currently set limits on whatever 85% of drivers travel, essentially letting drivers decide.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, part of the Department of Transportation, also plans to move forward with rule-making to mandate automatic emergency braking on all new passenger vehicles, setting new standards in vehicle safety performance by emphasizing features such as lane keeping assist and collision-neutralization. Avoidance information about new car window stickers.
As the NHTSA struggles with a growing pile of safety rules mandated and overdue by Congress, the new infrastructure law has added new requirements, such as a federal mandate for automakers to install anti-drunk driving technology. No firm deadline has been set for finalizing the rules, which could take years for NHTSA to write.
Traffic deaths began to rise in 2019, and NHTSA has blamed speeding and other reckless driving behaviors for the increases during the coronavirus pandemic. Before that, the death toll had fallen for three years.
Cathy Chase, head of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, described the department’s strategy as a step in the right direction, highlighting the importance of “rapid implementation of defined solutions that have proven to prevent crashes and save lives,” such as ensuring minimal performance. automatic emergency braking standards.
Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board and a strong advocate of the broader “safe systems” approach, also praised the ministry’s early steps, but stressed the importance of a sustained effort to gain full cooperation from states, communities and automakers. Last week, Homendy criticized NHTSA for moving too slowly in removing website statistics that suggest 94% of serious crashes are due to driver error alone; In fact, the agency’s own research identifies it as one of several major contributing factors. NHTSA has since removed the language.
“This is achievable. We may not reach zero accidents, but we can achieve zero fatalities and significantly reduce serious injuries,” Homendy told AP last week. It will take effort.”
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