The United States is experiencing a persistent road safety crisis. Over the past decade, the fatal crash rate per mile traveled has increased, with the sharpest growth occurring among crashes involving vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and bicyclists. U.S. motor vehicle fatality rates are also significantly higher—three to four times greater—than those in other high-income countries in Europe and Asia.

TRB Special Report 354: Tackling the Road Safety Crisis: Saving Lives Through Research and Action, produced by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, examines the scope and causes of this challenge. The study was conducted in response to a request from the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The report outlines a set of recommendations for the U.S. Department of Transportation, including the development of a coordinated, data-driven national road safety research strategy across federally funded safety programs and stronger mechanisms to translate research findings into practice. It also emphasizes the need for systematic research to validate practitioner guidance and retire outdated or unsupported approaches. To advance these goals and elevate national road safety efforts, the study recommends establishing a National Road Safety Research Center.