AAA urges Trump Administration to focus on deteriorating roadways

Key roadway improvements have the potential to save 63,700 lives and prevent 353,560 serious injuries in the US over a 20-year period, according to a new report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. With the US ranked nearly last among high-income nations in annual traffic fatalities, which continue to rise, AAA urges the Trump Administration to make repairing and maintaining America's roadways a top priority. With an investment of US$146 billion, the report recommends six cost-effective roadway impro
May 3, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Key roadway improvements have the potential to save 63,700 lives and prevent 353,560 serious injuries in the US over a 20-year period, according to a new report from the 477 AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. With the US ranked nearly last among high-income nations in annual traffic fatalities, which continue to rise, AAA urges the Trump Administration to make repairing and maintaining America's roadways a top priority.


With an investment of US$146 billion, the report recommends six cost-effective roadway improvements which it says have the greatest potential to reduce both the likelihood and consequences of crashes.

These include converting key intersections into roundabouts; installing roadside barriers and clearing roadside objects; and adding sidewalks and signalised pedestrian crossing on majority of roads. Other measures include installation of median barriers on divided highways, shoulder and centre-line rumble strips and paving and widening shoulders.

The AAA claims current investments in highway infrastructure improvements in the US are substantially lower than what is necessary to fix the nation's aging roads and bridges. While it says the US$146B investment outlined in the report will have a significant national-level impact, it also claims increased investment is required at all levels of government to prevent an infrastructure crisis.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • More than 3,000 GB road bridges are ‘substandard’
    March 10, 2017
    More than 3,000 council-maintained road bridges in Great Britain are substandard, according to a report by the RAC Research Foundation. Analysis of data received from 199 of the 207 local highway authorities in England, Scotland and Wales found that 3,203 structures over 1.5m in span are not fit to carry the heaviest vehicles now seen on our roads, including lorries of up to 44 tonnes. The 3,203 bridges represent about 1 in 23 of the roughly 72,000 bridges to be found on the local road network. Many o
    Read More
  • IBTTA, ARBTA, ATFI comment on latest Grow America Act
    April 2, 2015
    The International Bridge, Toll and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) has applauded the Grow America Act 2.0 just released by the US Administration and US DOT. It says that once again, the Administration has boldly called for lifting the ban on Interstate tolling for the purpose of reconstruction, giving states greater flexibility to meet their challenging infrastructure and surface transportation needs. The six-year, US$478 is said to be US$126 billion more than current investment levels and US$238 billion mo
    Read More
  • US enforcement regulation to deliver clearer guidelines?
    February 2, 2012
    Jim Tuton of American Traffic Solutions looks at the evolution of automated enforcement in North America "Technological regulation will become more sophisticated at the federal level, giving states clearer guidelines" Jim Tuton In just 20 years, photo enforcement in North America has grown from a single speed camera in a small town in Arizona to thousands of photo traffic enforcement cameras which are now operating in 350 communities spread across 27 states and three Canadian provinces. Most of these p
    Read More
  • Cautious welcome for US transportation bill extension
    July 31, 2015
    The US Senate's approval of the three-month MAP-21 extension and the ongoing work in the US Senate to pass a long-term surface transportation authorisation bill has received a cautious welcome from many US transportation authorities. Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) president and CEO Regina Hopper commented: “While the country is in desperate need of a long-term transportation initiative, we remain hopeful that the three-month extension will provide time for the House and Senat
    Read More

Highlighted Content