USDOT chief rolls back safety measures, sparking expert warnings of deadlier roads

Sean Duffy, the new head of the US Department of Transportation, has eliminated five items from the Federal Highway Administration’s list of proven safety countermeasures, removing guidance on bike lanes, road diets and three speed-control tools such as automated camera enforcement and variable speed limits. He also announced the reallocation of $1.73 billion in USDOT grants away from what he described as Biden-era DEI projects toward conventional road, bridge and port investments.

Safety researchers, including Jessica Cicchino of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, warn that the removal of effective measures like speed cameras could raise serious injuries and fatalities, especially as pedestrian and cyclist deaths have risen sharply in recent years. Duffy’s agency also issued a rule that disqualifies non-citizen truck drivers from obtaining or renewing commercial licences, a move critics label as immigration-driven rather than safety-based. The United Nations General Assembly recently passed a declaration to halve global road deaths by 2030, a resolution the US voted against, highlighting the international relevance of the domestic policy shift.