Transportation Secretary and Oberfuhrer of Conformity Sean Duffy sent out a letter to governors nationwide to conform to federal standards for crosswalks and other traffic control markings. The rationale Duffy offered was that brightly colored areas can be distracting and cause accidents, even though he admitted they helped lower the number of incidents:
As Americans crowd highways and airports for the peak summer travel season, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has announced a sweeping national initiative that could put rainbow-painted crosswalks and broader debates over how cities express identity and inclusion squarely in the federal spotlight.
In a letter on Tuesday, Duffy urged governors nationwide to comply with SAFE ROADS, a new Trump administration program aiming to eliminate “distractions” from non-freeway arterial roads. “Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork,” Duffy wrote.
Although he conceded that, under the Biden administration, estimated traffic fatalities declined by 3.8 percent in 2024 compared to 2023 levels, Duffy emphasized that the estimated toll of 39,345 deaths remains “unacceptable,” and pressed states to identify hazardous roads within 60 days, with fixes expected by the end of the 2026 fiscal year.
