WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Department of Transportation rolled out a revised National Roadway Safety Strategy last week that puts greater emphasis on traffic enforcement, congestion reduction and vehicle technology as the agency seeks to extend recent declines in roadway fatalities.
Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy outlined the strategy around three objectives — safer people, safer roads and safer vehicles — spanning initiatives involving law enforcement, infrastructure design, commercial trucking and automated-vehicle technology.
The department characterized the plan as an interdepartmental framework for reducing traffic deaths and injuries rather than a single regulatory or spending initiative.
Under the safer-people component, USDOT plans to strengthen coordination with law enforcement while supporting transportation workers and first responders in rural, urban and tribal communities.
The safer-roads component calls for road-design changes, targeted efforts to relieve bottlenecks and increased enforcement involving commercial drivers. The department contends reducing congestion can also improve crash outcomes, including by limiting secondary crashes.
For vehicles, USDOT plans to modernize safety standards, pursue a national automated-vehicle strategy and expand the use of technology intended to prevent crashes.
“This new strategy builds on that progress by doubling down on our coordination with the police, enhancing our anti-congestion initiatives, and embracing automotive innovation to make our streets safer than ever,” Duffy stated.
The strategy follows a series of enforcement and education initiatives undertaken by the department, including campaigns addressing distracted and impaired driving, seat-belt use and commercial-driver qualifications.
USDOT also pointed to falling traffic deaths in 2025 as evidence of improving roadway safety. The release, however, did not provide fatality totals, percentage changes or other statistics supporting its characterization of deaths as having fallen to “record lows.”
Federal Highway Administrator Sean McMaster described the strategy as an effort to target transportation improvements where safety risks are greatest, while Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Derek D. Barrs emphasized enforcement against impaired and improperly qualified drivers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will continue using the Safe System Approach, which seeks to reduce the likelihood that roadway mistakes result in deaths or serious injuries. NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison also cited technology, law-enforcement partnerships and prehospital blood transfusions among the agency’s safety initiatives.
The strategy extends beyond highways and passenger vehicles. The Federal Railroad Administration plans to focus on highway-rail grade crossings and railroad rights of way, which the agency identified as major sources of rail-related casualties.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will coordinate with state, local and tribal governments on the safety of hazardous-material transportation. The agency reported that about 2.3 million hazardous-material shipments are in transit each day.
Federal Transit Administration officials also identified upgrades to transit safety systems, operator protections, passenger experience and accessibility as components of the broader initiative.
The strategy represents the Trump administration’s approach to the existing federal roadway-safety framework, combining infrastructure and vehicle measures with a stronger focus on enforcement and operational efficiency.
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