A Quiet Change With Loud Consequences: FHWA Removes Five Road Safety Measures From Its ‘Proven’ List
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has removed five road safety measures from its official list of “Proven Safety Countermeasures”: bicycle lanes, speed safety cameras, road diets, variable speed limits and speed limits designed with vulnerable road users in mind.
The changes appeared on the FHWA website in July 2026 without a dedicated public announcement or detailed explanation. The agency subsequently told NPR that the changes were part of a broader review intended to ensure its safety countermeasures align with current U.S. Department of Transportation policies and the administration’s priorities.
The decision is notable because several of the measures had previously been promoted by FHWA as evidence-based approaches to reducing crashes, serious injuries and fatalities.
What Was Removed — and Why It Matters
FHWA’s Proven Safety Countermeasures program identifies strategies that have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing roadway fatalities and serious injuries.
The designation does not determine how federal transportation money must be spent, but it provides federal recognition and research that state and local agencies can draw on when developing projects, seeking funding and making the case for safety interventions.
Earlier FHWA guidance cited evidence supporting several of the measures now removed.
Its 2021 material, for example, stated that adding bicycle lanes could reduce crashes by up to 30% on urban two-lane roads and 49% on urban four-lane roads. FHWA also cited research indicating that speed safety cameras could reduce crashes on urban arterial roads by as much as 50%.
Michael Griffith, a former FHWA safety office staff member who spent more than a decade at the agency, described the process behind the original list as a research-based assessment:
“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.”
The Political Context
The changes come amid a broader shift in U.S. transportation policy under Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Duffy has criticized some bicycle infrastructure projects, including referring to what he called “DEI bike lanes.” Around the same time, the Department of Transportation announced that approximately $1.73 billion in federal grants would be redirected away from projects it characterized as supporting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The timing has prompted criticism from transportation and road-safety organizations, particularly because bicycle infrastructure and other measures removed from the FHWA list had previously been supported by federal research.
FHWA, for its part, has framed the changes as part of its review of the countermeasures program and said the list should reflect current DOT policies and administration priorities. It has not provided a detailed public explanation for why each of the five measures was removed.
Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) criticized the change, saying:
“Attacking proven safety measures makes no sense in the middle of a roadway safety epidemic.”
What the Evidence Shows
Removing a measure from the FHWA list does not remove the underlying research. Federal agencies, universities and independent road-safety organizations continue to study the effectiveness of these interventions.
Speed cameras provide one example.
New York City’s Department of Transportation reported in 2025 that average daily speeding violations at camera locations had fallen by 94% since the city’s automated enforcement program began in 2014. The figure refers to violations recorded at camera locations, rather than a 94% reduction in speeding across the city.
San Francisco has also reported substantial reductions in speeding at locations where speed safety cameras were deployed.
As of May 2025, 310 U.S. communities operated speed cameras, according to data compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The broader record of Vision Zero programs is more difficult to attribute to any single intervention. New York City reported that traffic deaths fell by more than 12% between 2013 and 2023, while pedestrian deaths fell by 45%. The decline occurred during a decade of policies that included speed cameras, protected bicycle infrastructure, street redesigns and other measures.
Hoboken, New Jersey, reached eight consecutive years without a traffic fatality, according to the city, after adopting a broader Vision Zero approach that included lower speed limits, street redesigns and bicycle infrastructure.
At the national level, 39,254 people died in U.S. traffic crashes in 2024, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Speeding was identified as a contributing factor in 11,288 deaths, or 29% of the total.
What It Means for Cities
The removal from the FHWA list does not prevent cities and states from using these measures. Agencies can continue to evaluate them through local crash data, state policies and independent research.
But transportation organizations say the loss of the federal designation matters because the FHWA list had become an important reference point for local agencies.
Josh Naramore of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) said the list and its supporting research had helped local and state agencies make the case for safety projects:
“That list of approved safety countermeasures and all the research really helped change the game for local agencies and even for states to have conversations with the federal government, with state departments of transportation, and even with regional planning agencies.”
NACTO has made earlier FHWA resources and supporting material available through its own channels.
Stephanie Pollack, who served as acting FHWA administrator under President Biden, also questioned the policy change:
“We should be making decisions about safety based on evidence. 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.”
That criticism reflects one side of an ongoing policy debate; the current administration has said its transportation programs should reflect current DOT policies and priorities.
Beyond the Federal List
Cities and states have several avenues for continuing to evaluate road-safety measures outside the FHWA designation.
State transportation departments can establish their own safety programs, while local agencies can use crash data and independent research when evaluating road designs and enforcement measures. Organizations including the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, NACTO and the Vision Zero Network continue to publish research and guidance.
Legal challenges are another potential avenue when federal decisions affect local infrastructure.
In April 2026, a federal judge blocked the U.S. government’s attempt to remove protected bicycle lanes on 15th Street in Washington, D.C., finding that the federal decision had failed to adequately consider relevant data and was arbitrary and capricious under administrative law.
The case does not determine how future transportation disputes will be resolved, but it illustrates that federal decisions affecting local road infrastructure can be challenged in court.
What Changes — and What Doesn’t
The FHWA’s decision changes the federal government’s official designation of five road-safety measures. It does not eliminate the research behind their previous inclusion, nor does it prevent state and local governments from continuing to evaluate or use them.
For transportation agencies, the practical focus may therefore shift toward demonstrating effectiveness through local crash data, independent research and state or municipal safety frameworks rather than relying on the FHWA designation alone.
That debate comes as the U.S. continues to face a significant road-safety challenge: more than 39,000 people died on its roads in 2024, with speeding involved in nearly three out of every ten fatalities.
The FHWA’s list has changed. The evidence surrounding the measures — and the debate over how that evidence should shape transportation policy — remains.
