Sponsors (2)
The bill strengthens protections for people near disabled vehicles and improves crash data and federal oversight to better target safety investments, but it imposes new reporting and implementation costs, may strain smaller agencies, and could redirect limited safety funding away from other priorities.
Drivers, vehicle occupants, and roadside pedestrians (including people near disabled vehicles) gain explicit, expanded protection because safety projects can now cover occupants and pedestrians associated with disabled vehicles.
State and local transportation agencies get clearer guidance and regular data (mandatory working groups and annual reports) to better target interventions, which should help reduce fatal and nonfatal roadside and work zone crashes.
Improved data sharing with NHTSA and promotion of Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria, combined with an annual FHWA report to Congress, strengthens national crash tracking and gives federal oversight that can yield better evidence-based safety policy and funding recommendations.
State and local agencies will face new administrative and compliance costs to collect, standardize, and report more detailed crash data and to participate in required working groups.
Smaller or resource-constrained state and local agencies—especially in rural areas—may struggle to implement MMUCC and enhanced data-sharing, widening capacity gaps and creating uneven safety improvements across jurisdictions.
Broadening eligible projects to explicitly include disabled-vehicle related protections could shift limited Highway Safety Improvement Program funds toward those projects and away from other roadway safety priorities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Adds disabled‑vehicle occupants/pedestrians to eligible highway safety projects, creates working groups to collect data and plan responses for disabled‑vehicle and work‑zone crashes, and requires annual FHWA reports on States' contingency fund use.
Introduced February 12, 2026 by Richard Blumenthal · Last progress February 12, 2026
Expands the list of eligible highway safety projects to explicitly cover occupants of and pedestrians associated with disabled vehicles, and creates two federal working groups to collect and publish data, develop strategic plans, and promote data standards for disabled-vehicle crashes and work‑zone crashes. Requires annual updates from those working groups and an annual FHWA report to Congress on States’ use and effectiveness of work‑zone safety contingency funds, including which States used the authority, amounts devoted, and recommendations to improve use nationwide.