The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) posted the final rule regarding pavement marking retroreflectivity in today’s Federal Register.

The posting states: “The purpose of this final rule is to update the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) to provide standards, guidance, options, and supporting information relating to maintaining minimum levels of retroreflectivity for pavement markings. The MUTCD is incorporated in FHWA regulations and recognized as the national standard for traffic control devices used on all streets, highways, bikeways, and private roads open to public travel.”

The rule notes that it is effective on Sept. 6.

ATSSA President and CEO, Stacy Tetschner released the following statement today that strongly opposes President Joe Biden’s proposal for suspending federal and state gas taxes.

"Although we certainly support efforts to reduce the price per gallon of gasoline and diesel, suspending federal fuel taxes would set a dangerous precedent, financially undermine the recently-enacted bipartisan infrastructure law, impact state and local governments’ certainty of federal roadway safety funding, and imperil the ability to enact future multi-year transportation authorizations. It’s extremely unlikely that the suspension of federal fuel taxes will result in the American consumer actually seeing a commensurate reduction in the price they pay at the pump when filling up their vehicle.

Traffic fatalities across the U.S. rose 10.5% in 2021 to a projected 42,915 deaths, reaching a 16-year high, according to statistics released today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

That projected increase from 38,824 fatalities in 2020 is “the highest number of fatalities since 2005 and the largest annual percentage increase in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System’s history,” NHTSA announced today.

ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner expressed concern over the record-breaking fatality rate.

“ATSSA’s members have devoted their lives to roadway safety and providing the infrastructure and technology needed to save the lives of the motoring public as well as men and women working on our roadways,” Tetschner said. “This unprecedented increase in traffic fatalities brings home the importance of our work and the necessity of government and private industry partnering to provide safe thoroughfares. The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which was enacted into law in November, provides historic levels of federal funding for roadway safety infrastructure projects. Departments of transportation around the country, including the U.S. Department of Transportation, must prioritize getting these funds to critical, lifesaving safety projects as soon as possible. We know that safer roads save lives. ATSSA members are ready to go to work with their agency partners to move toward zero deaths on all roads.”

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on Monday announced the release of  responses to three questions regarding testing of roadway safety hardware under the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH), 2016.

The guidance is available online and includes all new and prior questions and answers dating to May 2018.

A joint AASHTO/FHWA technical working group developed the latest responses, which are created to help manufacturers, crash test laboratories and transportation agencies apply the guidelines to roadway safety devices.

The Federal Highway Administration is hosting a Nov. 22 webinar providing its “Proven Safety Countermeasures 2021 Update,” which will highlight two innovations that are part of the Safe Transportation for Every Pedestrian (STEP) program.

Register now for this free event in which the Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon and Crosswalk Visibility Enhancements will be highlighted. Nine new countermeasures will be introduced during the webinar along with a briefing on new features in the program’s website and implementation resources.