TEA-21 - Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century Moving Americans into the 21st Century
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OVERALL: This session was organized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and focused on safety issues. All speakers specifically addressed the safety provisions of TEA-21 with much emphasis on the Alcohol-related safety programs and the seat belt and occupant protection programs.

Speakers expressed broad, general support for the safety provisions in TEA-21. The western mountain states were well represented and many speakers voiced support for allowing states to have as much flexibility as possible to tailor safety programs to state needs and circumstances. There was opposition to the TEA-21 penalty programs related to open containers and minimum penalties for repeat drunk-driving offenders. Speakers indicated that the Federal government imposing penalties was not the best approach but rather incentive programs were preferred.

Alcohol Programs

Specific Suggestions:

• Tailor safety program guidelines to state and local constituencies. Let the states and locals decide how to improve safety within reasonable guidelines. Use performance- based guidance in order to accomplish this.

• The Federal agencies ought to merge safety related data resources.

• Provide non-profit and educational groups safety grant monies up front at the beginning of the fiscal year, getting the funds on a reimbursable basis poses problems.

Grade Crossing Safety

The partnership with FRA on grade crossing safety has been a very positive development and ought to be continued. Specific support for the Operation Life Saver program was offered by several speakers, although even with increased funding, there was a concern that the program is still under funded in relationship to need.

Specific Suggestions:

• Section 130 program funding is inadequate and favors urban areas based on number of vehicles that use the grade crossings, etc. This needs to be corrected because rural areas cannot effectively compete for funding yet grade crossings pose safety problems in these areas.

Bicycle Safety

The project development process needs to be changed for programs to install bicycle racks, build bicycle lanes, etc. The bicycle coordinator for the City of Denver made several points about the difficulties of getting bicycle projects implemented. The issues were largely related to requirements which he felt were irrelevant and unnecessary for such projects. (e.g. requiring paleontological studies on the placement of bicycle racks on existing sidewalks).

Specific Suggestions:

• Develop a "no-excavation policy" where if no excavation or earth-moving is required then certain requirements (like palentological studies and environmental reviews) should be waived.

• Develop a national standard for bicycle racks

• Develop simple, meaningful requirements for bicycle related projects.

Truck Safety

One speaker representing truckers opposed the Section 1216 toll program which allows three pilot projects to fund the rehabilitation and reconstruction of interstates with revenues collected from tolls. He recommended that the costs and benefits of these projects should be assessed prior to approval under this program.

Another speaker requested that freight operators be included in the MPO planning process.

Specific Suggestions:

• The pilot safety program under TEA-21 should be performance based and the trucking industry should have ample opportunity to participate in the development of guidance.

• TEA-21 requirement that law enforcement agencies do post-accident testing in cases where they have reasonable cause to believe that alcohol was involved is a good policy and makes good sense. (Note: It should be noted that the law enforcement participants in the session indicated that they need to have funding to implement this provision. Also they indicated that if they have the responsibility for this, they need the authority to carry it out.)