ARTBA Comments on FHWA Highway Safety Improvement Program

As the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) considers changes to its Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), ARTBA April 17 filed comments urging the agency to “assert unequivocally” that highway workers be labeled as “vulnerable road users.” HSIP is a federally funded program that helps states reduce traffic fatalities and injuries. The rule, as it stands, expands the program’s focus to include all roadway users and requires states to assess their existing safety plans for groups such as the disabled, disadvantaged, and pedestrians, while overlooking one extremely vulnerable group – transportation construction workers.

The most recent statistics available show that 891 people lost their lives building and maintaining the nation’s roads and bridges in 2022. This number is down from 961 fatalities the previous year, but still tragically too high.