FHWA Publishes Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Update the Highway Safety Improvement Program

On Wednesday, February 21, 2024, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register [89 FR 1300] to update the existing Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) requirements under 23 CFR Part 924.

The purpose of the HSIP NPRM is to update the regulations to address provisions in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ((Pub. L. 117-58, also known as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law” (BIL)) and reflect current priorities and state-of-the-practice. Specifically, FHWA proposes to update the HSIP regulations to incorporate the Safe System Approach, improve evaluation practices, streamline reporting efforts, and ensure States are collecting MIRE fundamental data elements. These changes will further strengthen and advance the safety and equity priorities of the USDOT National Roadway Safety Strategy and assist States with making safety gains designed to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries on the Nation’s roads.

We invite you to review the HSIP NPRM in its entirety to gain a better understanding of the proposed amendments. The HSIP NPRM in the Federal Register, related outreach materials, and information on upcoming webinars are available at https://highways.dot.gov/safety/hsip/hsip-rulemaking.

FHWA will host a public webinar on Monday, March 4th, to provide an overview of the major provisions in the HSIP NPRM. Stakeholders can register at https://usdot.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_-X5WMYqUT7e6g-9S3H2lRA.

All public comments on the HSIP NPRM (FHWA-23-0045) should be submitted to the docket at https://www.regulations.gov. We look forward to hearing your comments by April 22, 2024, for consideration in the development of the HSIP Final Rule.