US transport secretary’s war on ‘woke’ could make roads even deadlier, experts warn
Sean Duffy targets bike lanes and immigrant truck drivers while steering funds away from addressing lethal US roads Barbara McCann may have been the first person to notice that the Federal Highway Administration had removed several safety policies from public view. McCann worked on road safety policy at the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) for more than a decade across multiple administrations, retiring in…
Key points
- US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy removed bike lanes and speed management tools from federal safety guidance.
- Experts warn the changes could increase traffic deaths in a country already deadlier than peer nations.
- Duffy also restricted commercial driver's licenses for immigrant truck drivers, a move critics call racist.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has removed several science-backed road safety measures from federal guidance and redirected funds toward roads and bridges, prompting warnings from transportation experts that American roads could become deadlier. The Federal Highway Administration deleted bike lanes, road diets and three speed management tools, including automated speed cameras, from its list of proven safety countermeasures. Webpages on pedestrian and bicyclist safety were also taken down.
Duffy, a former Fox News host, said his department is committed to making roadways safer. But experts say the actions ignore decades of evidence. Traffic deaths in the US already far exceed those in other high-income countries, with an estimated 36,640 people killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2025.
What experts say
Barbara McCann, a former USDOT safety policy official, called the removal of speed management strategies gobsmacking. Jessica Cicchino of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said speed cameras are really effective at bringing down serious injuries and fatalities and that federal authorities should promote them. Jesus Barajas, a University of California, Davis professor, said the safety problem is one of equity because communities of color and low-income areas are most affected.
The department also removed the Highway Safety Information System, a federal crash database, from public view. FHWA said the site was down for a few months while guidebooks were updated but remains available upon request.
They pick scapegoats and go after them. That has absolutely nothing to do with safety.
— Barbara McCann
Crackdown on immigrant drivers
Duffy has also targeted foreign-born truck drivers. A new rule disqualifies drivers without US citizenship or permanent residency from getting or renewing commercial driver's licenses. The department cited 17 fatal crashes in 2025 involving non-domiciled CDL holders that resulted in 30 deaths, or 0.08% of estimated road deaths last year.
The AFL-CIO wrote to Congress in March that the department's own data showed excluded immigrant drivers were involved in fatal collisions at a lower rate than non-excluded drivers, meaning the rule would worsen safety. Critics say the effort has racist undertones and is guided by the Trump administration's immigration enforcement push.
