The nation’s road system covers 4 million miles and is governed by a patchwork of federal, state, and local jurisdictions that often operate in silos, making systemic change difficult and expensive.
But amid the highest number of pedestrians killed in decades, localities are pushing to control how speed limits are set and for more accountability on road design.
This spring, New York and Michigan passed laws allowing local jurisdictions to lower speed limits.
Still, there’s plenty of political resistance to speed enforcement.
In California’s Statehouse, Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) proposed requiring GPSequipped smart devices in new cars and trucks to prevent excessive speeding. But after pushback, the state lawmaker watered down his bill to require all vehicles sold in the state starting in 2032 to have only warning systems that alert drivers when they exceed the speed limit by more than 10 mph.
Although the Biden administration is championing Vision Zero — its commitment to zero traffic deaths — and injecting more than $20 billion in funding for transportation safety programs through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, road safety advocates and some lawmakers argue that the country is still far from making streets and vehicles safe, or slowing drivers down.