"Hundreds of preventable fatalities and more than 13 million metric tons of climate pollution would be avoided by 2045 if Congress passed legislation that answered advocates' long- time demand to require state DOTs to set declining annual fatality targets - and reallocate highway money to safety projects if they don't meet those goals, according to a new analysis from Evergreen Action."
"But if state Departments of Transportation were required to shift enough money out of highway programs to functionally triple their Highway Safety Improvement Program budget anytime they fall short on saving lives, it could finally drive deaths down, while also avoiding 15,000 injuries and cutting 320,000 total crashes per year, advocates at Evergreen say. And as a happy side effect, it'd also eliminate emissions equivalent to removing 1.5 million gas-powered cars from the road over the next 20 years."
Closing the federal loophole that lets states receive unrestricted highway funds without reducing road deaths could prevent roughly 1,000 deaths annually. Congress could require state Departments of Transportation to set declining yearly fatality targets and redirect highway funds to safety projects when targets are missed. Under current law, some states set permissive goals or avoid consequences when targets are missed, allowing fatalities to rise. Redirecting funds to effectively triple Highway Safety Improvement Program spending when states fail to meet targets could avoid 15,000 injuries, cut about 320,000 crashes annually, and reduce over 13 million metric tons of emissions by 2045, equivalent to removing 1.5 million cars over 20 years.
Read at Streetsblog
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