Washington, D.C.—Last week, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) sent a letter to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro requesting that the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) study the safety outcomes associated with the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The MUTCD defines the standards used by road managers across the country to install and maintain traffic control devices—including stop signs, bike lanes and crosswalks—on all public roadways to improve safety.
“We are experiencing an unconscionable safety crisis in this country,” the Members wrote. “More than 35,000 people die on our roadways every year. More than 7,000 pedestrians were struck and killed in 2022, the highest number since 1981. No comparable nation sees this kind of death toll.”
“While the MUTCD permits engineering discretion that should allow practitioners to exercise their own judgement about the best way to implement roadway safety, our offices have heard from engineers across the country that the structure and language of the MUTCD, as well as the industry culture around it, results in a reluctance to deviate from the guidelines even when alternatives may be more contextually appropriate,” the Members continued.
To improve roadway safety for drivers, bikers and pedestrians, the members called on the GAO to study how state and local government traffic engineers, planners and consultants utilize the MUTCD when implementing multi-modal roadway designs.
To read the full letter, click here.
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