Agency official outlines joint secretary's road safety policy to prioritize prevention and design

An agency official outlined a statewide road-safety policy on the need to prevent traffic deaths and serious injuries, saying the state will prioritize prevention, context-sensitive design and speed management rather than waiting to act after crashes occur.

"Mobility and loss of human life should never intersect," the agency official said, framing the policy around proactive measures to reduce harm.

The official said every decision about how transportation is planned, designed and maintained affects real outcomes, arguing that injury prevention "should be top of mind in every conversation" — from project planning to daily roadway management. "If we make changes only after someone has been seriously injured or killed in a crash, it's too late," the official added, urging earlier, coordinated actions to prevent many fatal and serious-injury crashes.

The remarks connected land-use patterns to safety, noting that closer proximity of homes to schools, jobs, stores and transit shortens trips and increases opportunities for walking and biking, which in turn can improve safety for people in cars, on bikes and on foot. "Communities designed around daily needs support better outcomes for everyone," the official said.

On street design, the official said roads should be matched to their function: a regional highway should not operate like a neighborhood main street. The remarks named roundabouts and separated bikeways as examples of features that should become normal tools rather than exceptions, and stressed tailoring speeds and roadway features to surrounding land use and community preferences.

The speaker also emphasized the state's role in setting standards and guidance, saying, "State leadership extends far beyond state highways," and urging evidence-based approaches that help local governments make safety-minded decisions. The official said the new joint secretary's policy on road safety will prioritize prevention, design environments that reduce risk, manage speeds and protect the most vulnerable road users.

The remarks closed with a call to align planning, housing, climate, design, education, enforcement, management and funding so safety is built into projects and budgets: "When safety is built into how we plan, design and fund our system, we can have a big impact." The official concluded by urging continued work to "create a system that saves lives."