U.S. Reps. Abby Finkenauer (D-IA) and Bruce Westerman (R-AR) introduced Monday the Rural Road Safety Act, raising the potential for providing federal funding to communities in need of safety improvements on rural roads.
The legislation is built on the reasoning that most rural roads are locally owned, but their maintenance costs can be a struggle to meet. The Rural Road Safety Act would, therefore, demand that states invest a certain portion of federal Highway Safety Improvement Program funds into high-risk rural roads, as had been required between 2005 and 2012. Further, it would update the 2014 Rural Local and Tribal Roads Safety Toolkit for these roads to include new best practices for reducing fatalities.
“The data is clear: we can and must do more to make our rural roads safer for everyone—whether you’re a driver, a state trooper on duty, or working to improve our roads,” Finkenauer said. “Congressman Westerman and I worked on this bill with the goal of saving lives. We looked at what previously worked, and we found that ensuring federal money gets invested into rural roads helped save lives. This bill is a return to what worked.”
Finkenauer and Westerman point to statistics showing that despite only carrying 30 percent of the nation’s traffic in 2017, rural roads encompassed 47.5 percent of its traffic fatalities.
“Whenever I’m driving back in my district, I see the dangers of traveling on rural roads,” Westerman said. “This bipartisan bill will re-implement investments that worked in the past, with the ultimate goal of saving lives. Whether you are using a rural road for commuting, visiting friends, or driving to the grocery store, these roads should be safe to drive on.”
The bill has already gained the support of eight major organizations in the United States, including AARP, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, American Traffic Safety Services Association, International Union of Operating Engineers, National Association of Counties, National Association of County Engineers, National Troopers Coalition, and North America’s Building Trades Unions.