DOT Removes Bike Lanes and Speed Cameras from Safety List

WASHINGTON — The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has quietly removed bike lanes, speed safety cameras, variable speed limits, and two other safety strategies from its official list of “Proven Safety Countermeasures” — a federally maintained catalog of evidence-based road safety measures — reducing the list from 28 to 23 items. The change, first noticed by safety advocates in late June and early July 2026, has drawn sharp criticism from former transportation officials and safety experts who argue it undermines proven, life-saving strategies.

According to NPR, which first reported the story, the FHWA has not publicly announced or explained the decision to cut the list. The move comes amid Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s broader campaign against what he has derided as “DEI bike lanes” and a significant shift in federal transportation funding away from pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.

Background: The Proven Safety Countermeasures Program

The FHWA’s Proven Safety Countermeasures initiative is a collection of strategies shown through rigorous research to reduce roadway fatalities and serious injuries. The program helps state and local transportation planners make evidence-based decisions about road safety investments. While the list does not directly control federal funding — FHWA distributes tens of billions of dollars annually to states, which decide how to spend them — it carries significant influence over state and local decision-making.

Former FHWA Acting Administrator Stephanie Pollack, who oversaw the expansion of the list to 28 strategies in 2021, criticized the decision. “We should be making decisions about safety based on evidence,” Pollack told NPR. “It’s hard for me to understand how you could say you’re putting safety first, and then make arbitrary decisions about what does and doesn’t improve safety.”

The Evidence Behind the Removed Measures

The FHWA’s own 2021 documentation stated that adding a bike lane could cut crashes on a two-lane road by as much as 30%, and by 49% on a four-lane road. Speed cameras can reduce crashes on urban arterial roads by as much as half, according to the same document. Michael Griffith, who worked for more than a decade in the safety office at FHWA before retiring in 2022, told NPR: “We had a team evaluate the research literature and identify countermeasures that are effective. ‘Proven’ is basically backed by sound research, research that we have confidence in.”

More than 36,000 people were killed on U.S. roads in 2025, according to NHTSA data, though that number has declined since 2021. Pedestrian fatalities reached a four-decade high in 2022 before declining somewhat, and U.S. roads remain significantly less safe than those in other developed countries.

A Broader Policy Shift

The removal of these safety measures is part of a larger pattern under the Trump administration. On July 7, 2026, the DOT announced $1.73 billion in BUILD grants, directing nearly 77% of funding toward roads and bridges, with no funding for bike lanes or pedestrian projects. On the same day, Secretary Duffy posted on X: “Remember when Biden and Boot-edge-edge used YOUR MONEY for DEI bike lanes and climate change? THAT’S OVER.”

This follows the administration’s previous actions, including pulling back already-announced grants for bike lanes and recreational trails in September 2025, telling local officials their projects were “hostile to motor vehicles,” as AP News reported. The Biden-era RAISE grant program was also renamed back to BUILD.

Impact on State and Local Decision-Making

Safety advocates warn that removing these strategies from the federal list will have real-world consequences. Josh Naramore, a policy expert at the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), told NPR: “It’s not just changing the web page, but it’s really going to put lifesaving projects at risk.” He added that the list “really helped change the game for local agencies and even for states to have conversations with the federal government… So you’re essentially taking tools out of the toolkit.”

In a statement to NPR, an FHWA spokesperson defended the changes, saying: “Drivers paying taxes and vehicle fees expect their dollars to be reinvested into our roads, not social initiatives that burden their commutes. Under Secretary Duffy, the Department is getting back to basics and putting safety first.”

Analysis: Evidence vs. Ideology

The controversy highlights a fundamental tension between evidence-based policymaking and political priorities. The FHWA’s own research — which remains publicly available — clearly documents the safety benefits of bike lanes and speed cameras. Yet the administration has framed these measures as “DEI” initiatives, linking them to the Biden administration’s stated goals of advancing equity and combating climate change through transportation policy.

Critics argue this framing conflates separate policy objectives. “We’re still struggling in the United States with a completely unacceptable number of roadway deaths,” Pollack said. “These measures are one of the most important tools that the federal government has to help state and local transportation officials make smart decisions about how to make their roads safer. And they need to be credible.”

What’s Next

The full impact of the removal remains to be seen. The FHWA has not provided a formal public explanation for why each of the five strategies was removed. It is unclear whether state and local governments will continue to implement these measures independently, or whether the removal could face legal challenges from safety advocacy groups. What is clear is that the decision marks one of the most significant shifts in federal road safety policy in recent years, with potential implications for the tens of thousands of Americans killed on roads each year.