[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18686]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             ROADWAY SAFETY

  (Mr. WALZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about roadway safety and 
infrastructure and the role it plays in saving lives and growing our 
economy.
  Every year, approximately 34,000 men, women, and children die on our 
Nation's roadways. Although this number has decreased dramatically over 
recent years, we still have a long way to go.
  One of the major factors in that decrease was a program this body 
created in the last transportation authorization bill called the 
Highway Safety Improvement Program. This commonsense program seeks to 
reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries by making improvements 
to infrastructure such as road signs, guardrails, rumble strips, and 
other safety measures.
  According to a study commissioned by the American Traffic Safety 
Services Association, for every $1 million invested in roadway safety, 
we save seven lives. Taking away the tragedy of all of those lost 
lives, that number, in terms of economic benefit, is $42 million saved 
by saving these lives--a 42 to 1 return on our money is pretty darn 
good.
  I applaud Chairman Oberstar and Ranking Member Mica for including the 
Highway Safety Improvement Program in their current reauthorization 
draft. This program saves lives, puts people to work, and strengthens 
America's transportation system.
  I urge my colleagues to work diligently to pass a new multiyear 
transportation bill.

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