Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Transportation published its 2026 National Roadway Safety Strategy in August, focusing on safer people, safer roads and safer vehicles while also calling for a national strategy for autonomous vehicles and placing more emphasis on the role of law enforcement in road safety.
- It replaces the 2022 NRSS, which introduced the safe system approach built around safe vehicles, safe roads, safe speeds, safety for all road users and post-crash medical care.
- The new plan emphasizes safety strategies for rural and tribal communities even though more traffic fatalities occurred in urban areas from 2016 to 2024, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Dive Insight:
Traffic deaths in the U.S. in 2025 were the lowest since 2019, according to NHTSA. A total of 36,640 fatalities occurred in 2025, compared to 39,254 in 2024. Fatality rates were highest in New Mexico, Mississippi, South Carolina and Arizona.
The new strategy includes “a renewed commitment to law enforcement,” according to the DOT’s press release. "It’s encouraging to see the National Roadway Safety Strategy include law enforcement as a critical piece of a comprehensive approach to traffic safety,” Governors Highway Safety Association CEO Jonathan Adkins told Smart Cities Dive in an email.
The 2026 plan’s “safer roads” pillar emphasizes innovative road design to reduce bottlenecks and congestion. “You can't design streets for safety and speed at the same time and do it successfully,” Smart Growth America Director of Thriving Communities Heidi Simon told Smart Cities Dive.
Simon had other concerns with the new strategy. “It de-emphasizes a lot of the things that we would like to see more of, like improved street designs, especially for people biking, walking, who we know are dying at disproportionate rates,” she said.
The Federal Highway Administration recently deleted five “proven safety countermeasures” — bicycle lanes, road diets, speed safety cameras, variable speed limits and speed limits that are appropriate for vulnerable road users — from its web page.
“A change on a website doesn’t change what works on our streets,” the National Association of City Transportation Officials said on its website, where it published the five proven safety countermeasures deleted by the FHWA. “Local leaders, planners, and engineers will continue to rely on data-backed and real-world-proven street designs to keep everyone safe, whether they’re walking, rolling, biking, driving, or taking the bus.”
Simon said the safety countermeasures were trusted resources. “They provide guidance. They provide explanations and information that are used to inform really important decision making for people who are in the trenches on these topics,” she said.
The DOT’s new plan looks to a national autonomous vehicle strategy as its third safety pillar, which would include federal regulations. “Putting such an emphasis on technology that is not readily available today ignores the fact that we have solutions right now that we could be making to save lives,” Simon said.
“I don't think we need a new strategy,” Simon said. “I think we need a commitment of resources and support to the old strategy to get done what we know needs to get done.”
