Welcome to the Fast Lane: The Official Blog of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation

Teen Driving Safety Call to Action

Earlier today I had an opportunity to visit Maryland’s Severna Park High School and speak with members of the school’s SADD chapter.  They were an impressive group and it was encouraging to hear them talk about their efforts to keep their friends and classmates safe on our roads. 

Groups like this are truly making a difference.  New data I announced during my visit shows that in 2006, there were two and half million injuries on our highways, down 4.5 percent from 2005.

And the number of teen driver injuries also dropped to 416,000 in 2005.  But while those figures are encouraging, it’s still a travesty to see almost half a million teenagers getting injured on our roads.  That’s too many broken bones, scarred faces and wounded bodies for any of us to declare victory. 

NHTSA Administrator Nason: Safer Cars and Roads for the Century Ahead

  Our roadways are safer than ever—vehicle fatality rates are at their lowest levels since 1993, despite huge increases in vehicle miles traveled—but there is more work to be done.  I believe the most promising gains in road safety will come from new crash avoidance technologies—an area where NHTSA’s research engineers are leading the way.  Today the technology exists not only to reduce the severity of a crash, but to prevent it entirely.

Let me tell you a bit about what I see ahead.

Honoring Fallen Law Enforcement Officers

Yesterday, I had the honor of participating in the 13th Annual Law Ride, a motorcycle caravan recognizing the officers who lost their lives on America’s roads in 2007.  While our highways are getting safer for passengers and drivers every year, they are more dangerous than ever for our men and women in uniform.  For the 10th straight year,   traffic-related incidents claimed the lives of more officers than any other cause of death.

Yesterday’s ride highlighted the importance of road safety, and I encourage you all to visit the National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial Fund’s website, where you can learn more about their Drive Safely campaign: http://www.nleomf.org/TheFund/programs/DriveSafely/ 

Here are some photos from yesterday’s event.

-Secretary Peters

The Fast Lane Celebrates National Transportation Week

May 12-16 is National Transportation Week, and we’re going to mark the occasion in a big way in the Fast Lane.  With transportation news on the front pages and transportation policy debates headlining the presidential election for the first time in recent memory, there’s certainly plenty to talk about.  We all know safe and efficient transportation is a key component of our economy, but it seems more people than ever are questioning the assumptions and underlying structure of how we fund, build, and maintain our infrastructure network. 

This is a good thing! And I hope the Fast Lane will continue to be a place where questions are asked and ideas are debated.

To celebrate National Transportation Week, key policy makers and Administrators from our various agencies will blog about the future of their modes, and about some of the exciting things they have planned for the remainder of the year.  We’ll also hear from guest bloggers.

And as always, we want to hear from you.  I’m glad the Fast Lane is inspiring debate, and I hope the diversity of topics this week will lead to an even more constructive conversation.

Happy National Transportation Week!

-Secretary Peters

Guest Blogger: Congressman Paul Ryan (WI) Proposes Tying Gas Tax Relief to Cutting Earmarks

Over the past year, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline has risen by nearly 25 percent.  This week, gas prices hit another record high, and are closing in on $4 per gallon.

To help give American families some immediate relief at the pump, I introduced H.R. 5995, The Gas Tax Relief Act and Earmark Moratorium Act of 2008. My bill would suspend the 18.4-cent Federal gas tax from Memorial Day through Labor Day, helping Americans get through the busy driving months of the summer while Congress works on longer-term solutions.

One critical component of my bill is that it would hold harmless the Highway Trust Fund. The Trust Fund supports many of the critical investments made in the nation’s infrastructure by the Department of Transportation.  My bill ensures the DOT can continue to do its job without disruption.

My bill actually goes a step further in investing in American roads and highways. In addition to holding the Trust Fund harmless, it will actually fix its 2009 shortfall – a problem Secretary Peters has highlighted and has worked hard to try to resolve.