Washington, D.C.—The following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, from Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) during today’s hearing titled, “America Builds: A Review of Programs to Address Roadway Safety.”
Video of Ranking Member Larsen’s and Norton’s opening statements are here and here.
More information on the hearing can be found here.
Ranking Member Larsen:
Thank you, Chairman Rouzer, for holding this hearing to highlight safety in surface transportation.
Tragically, 40,990 people were killed on U.S. roads in 2023—a public health crisis. These fatalities make me and thousands of families ask: is safety truly a priority, or isn’t it?
Roughly 95 percent of fatalities in our transportation system occur on our roadways, so as we work on a surface reauthorization bill, we must make sure safety is our top priority.
We can invest in infrastructure while prioritizing safety at the same time. When America builds, Americans travel safely.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) takes safety seriously. It provides:
- $16 billion for Highway Safety Improvement to help states improve road and bridge infrastructure;
- Nearly $6 billion for the new Safe Streets and Roads for All to support local governments in deploying safety solutions; and,
- Over $8 billion to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for efforts to improve driver safety.
The BIL also reforms how we build and protect road users. New safety measures include incorporating complete street principles in roadway designs and equipping new cars with new safety technology like automatic emergency brakes.
These efforts work together to make infrastructure safer, raise driver awareness and reduce high risk scenarios.
The next surface reauthorization bill must put safety first and build upon the funding and policies in the BIL.
In my state, 813 people died in 2023 on our roadways. This represents a 10 percent increase from 2022 and the highest number of traffic deaths since 1990.
2023 also marked the worst year on record for pedestrian and motorcyclist fatalities in Washington State.
Impaired driving, speeding, and distracted driving were the leading causes of these tragedies.
I have worked with communities in my district to raise awareness of our safety challenges and deliver federal funding to improve safety and save lives.
In my district, Safe Streets and Roads for All funding will help tribes and communities, including Lummi Nation, Samish Indian Nation, the City of Everett and the City of Sedro-Woolley, plan for and build safer streets.
The City of Burlington received a $2 million grant to look at removing a dangerous railroad crossing, and the Stillaguamish Tribe received an $8.5 million award for a crossing project to reduce dangerous interactions with wildlife across Highway 20.
Tragically, tribal communities disproportionately feel the impact of our safety crisis. Native Americans are seven times more likely to be killed in motor vehicle crashes than other Americans.
The BIL doubles the funding for the tribal transportation safety set aside. If safety is a priority, then we must keep it going.
You cannot have a big league economy with little league infrastructure. That is because these investments support the movement of people and connect them with jobs.
In the case of safety projects, the right investments, carried out with accountability and where they are needed most, save lives. It does not get more personal than that.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that in 2019 traffic crashes cost the economy $340 billion.
Across the country our main streets and downtown areas depend on safe and accessible mobility to support local economies.
When people feel safe to drive, walk or bike in their communities they are more active. Investing in safety is therefore an investment in families, communities and the economy.
The Safe Streets and Roads for All grants program empowers communities to plan and execute projects safely to improve mobility in ways that reflect local realities. More than 75 percent of the nation’s population will be covered by local safety plans funded by these grants.
Congress has to act to provide historic investment levels from the BIL with a renewed focus on outcomes so that communities can turn safety plans into reality, save lives and improve livelihoods.
I am ready to make that investment. Let’s keep it going.
Thank you to our witnesses for being here today. I look forward to your testimony.
Ranking Member Norton:
I would like to thank Subcommittee Chairman Rouzer for holding this hearing on the safety of our nation’s surface transportation. Safety must continue to be the cornerstone of our work as this Subcommittee considers the next surface transportation reauthorization bill.
Make no mistake—we are living through a public health crisis in transportation. 40,990 people died on our roadways in 2023. Urban and rural communities alike suffer from infrastructure that has traditionally prioritized the quick movement of cars over the safe movement of people.
These deaths are not inevitable. Taking a comprehensive approach to safety saves lives. That includes designing roads that prioritize safety for all users, including pedestrians and bicyclists, equipping vehicles with the latest safety technologies and continuing to crack down on impaired driving. A safe systems approach ensures that when human error does occur, it need not be a death sentence.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law took safety seriously. States and localities now have unprecedented resources to tackle the safety crisis. The BIL increased funding for the Highway Safety Improvement Program by 34 percent to help states implement data-driven safety plans. It created a new Vulnerable Road User Special Rule to direct more dollars to projects that protect those not traveling in vehicles. And through the Safe Streets and Roads for All program, the BIL covered 75 percent of the nation’s population with roadway safety plans.
The BIL’s targeted investments are making a difference. The troubling upward trend in traffic fatalities has declined since 2022 and projects that adhere to complete streets design principles are making a difference.
Vehicle design is also part of the solution. Last year, NHTSA issued a new standard to require automatic emergency braking to reduce crashes. This rule is anticipated to save 360 lives and prevent at least 24,000 injuries per year.
We have the knowledge and the tools to respond to the urgency of the roadway safety crisis. The rhetoric around traffic safety has finally begun to change. Transportation leaders now acknowledge the shared responsibility to build roads that are safer for everyone.
But words are not enough. The surface transportation reauthorization bill this Subcommittee considers must take concrete steps to design, build and rebuild roads that prioritize the safe movement of people, regardless of how they move. We must enhance the transparency and accountability of our transportation infrastructure decision-making to tackle the safety crisis.
The BIL is making important progress toward the vision of zero roadway deaths. We must keep this positive momentum going.
Thank you to our witnesses today. I appreciate your input regarding the safety of the nation’s transportation system and look forward to our discussion about the challenges ahead.
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