Dive Brief:
- The Federal Highway Administration today issued a long-awaited update to the federal regulations governing traffic signs, signals and other roadway markings. The rule will take effect Jan. 18, 2024, and states must adopt the new standards within two years from the effective date.
- The new regulations include improvements for vulnerable road users — including pedestrians and bicyclists — such as rapid-flashing beacons that pedestrians can activate at marked crosswalks and green-colored pavement for bicycle lanes.
- “The new edition of this important transportation tool reflects how transportation has changed and continues to change,” said FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt in a YouTube video.
Dive Insight:
Close to 43,000 people lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes in the U.S. in 2022, including more than 7,500 pedestrians. According to the National Association of City Transportation Officials, under the current federal traffic manual, “someone crossing a street is less important than the fast-flowing movement of cars.”
According to Bhatt, the new rules will make streets safer for pedestrians through “stronger language on crosswalk markings, traffic signals and sidewalk detours and closures,” and more audible information devices for visually impaired pedestrians. Bicycle safety measures include turn boxes at intersections and traffic lights that encourage separation between cars and bikes.
The new standards also include signage for electric vehicle charging stations and ways to prepare roadways for autonomous vehicles.
The FHWA plans to update the manual more frequently in the future “because transportation is changing much more rapidly, and we know we need to keep up” Bhatt said in the video. He added that the manual updates requires significant research and public engagement.
“We know these updates will keep you safer [and] encourage you to use all the modes of transportation, from walking and biking to driving,” Bhatt said.
