I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 508 
To amend title 23, United States Code, to include a special rule for the 
dedication of funds under the highway safety improvement program for 
certain vulnerable users, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 28, 2021 
Ms. BROWNLEY (for herself and Mr. ESPAILLAT) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend title 23, United States Code, to include a special 
rule for the dedication of funds under the highway safety 
improvement program for certain vulnerable users, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe And Friendly for 
the Environment Streets Act’’ or the ‘‘SAFE Streets Act’’. 
SEC. 2. HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. 
Section 148 of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended— 
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(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (4)(B)(xiii) by inserting 
‘‘, including the development of a vulnerable 
road user safety assessment under section 1601 
of the SAFE Streets Act’’ after ‘‘safety plan-
ning’’; 
(B) in paragraph (11)— 
(i) by redesignating subparagraphs 
(G) through (I) as subparagraphs (H) 
through (J); and 
(ii) by inserting after subparagraph 
(F) the following: 
‘‘(G) includes a vulnerable road user safety 
assessment described under paragraph (16);’’; 
and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(13) VULNERABLE
ROAD
USER.—The term 
‘vulnerable road user’ means a nonmotorist— 
‘‘(A) with a fatality analysis reporting sys-
tem person attribute code that is included in 
the definition of the term ‘number of non-mo-
torized fatalities’ in section 490.205 of title 23, 
Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regu-
lation); or 
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‘‘(B) described in the term ‘number of 
non-motorized serious injuries’ in such section. 
‘‘(14) VULNERABLE
ROAD
USER
SAFETY
AS-
SESSMENT.—The term ‘vulnerable road user safety 
assessment’ means an assessment of the safety per-
formance of the State or a metropolitan planning or-
ganization within the State with respect to vulner-
able road users and the plan of the State or metro-
politan planning organization to improve the safety 
of vulnerable road users described in subsection 
(l).’’; 
(2) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘(a)(11)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(a)(13)’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2)(A)(vi) by inserting ‘‘, 
consistent with the vulnerable road user safety 
assessment’’ after ‘‘nonmotorized crashes’’; 
(3) in subsection (d)(1)(B)— 
(A) in clause (iv) by inserting ‘‘and serious 
injury’’ after ‘‘fatality’’; 
(B) in clause (vii) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 
inserting a semicolon; 
(C) by redesignating clause (viii) as clause 
(ix); and 
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(D) by inserting after clause (vii) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(viii) the findings of a vulnerable 
road user safety assessment of the State; 
and’’; 
(4) in subsection (g) by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(3) VULNERABLE ROAD USER SAFETY.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date 
of enactment of the SAFE Streets Act, if a 
State determines that the number of vulnerable 
road user fatalities and serious injuries per cap-
ita in such State over the most recent 2-year 
period for which data are available exceeds the 
median number of such fatalities and serious 
injuries per capita among all States, that State 
shall be required to obligate over the 2 fiscal 
years following the fiscal year in which such de-
termination is made an amount that is not less 
than 75 percent of the amount set aside in such 
State under section 133(h)(1) for fiscal year 
2020, less any amounts obligated by a metro-
politan planning organization in the State as 
required by subparagraph (D), for— 
‘‘(i) in the first fiscal year— 
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‘‘(I) performing the vulnerable 
user safety assessment as prescribed 
by subsection (l); 
‘‘(II) providing matching funds 
for transportation alternatives safety 
project 
as 
identified 
in 
section 
133(h)(7)(B); and 
‘‘(III) projects eligible under sec-
tion 133(h)(3)(A), (B), (C), or (I); 
and 
‘‘(ii) in each fiscal year thereafter, the 
program of projects identified in subsection 
(l)(2)(C). 
‘‘(B) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—Any amounts 
obligated under subparagraph (A) shall be from 
amounts described in section 133(d)(1)(B) or 
104(b)(3). 
‘‘(C) ANNUAL DETERMINATION.—The de-
termination described under subparagraph (A) 
shall be made on an annual basis. 
‘‘(D) METROPOLITAN
PLANNING
AREA 
WITH EXCESSIVE FATALITIES AND SERIOUS IN-
JURIES PER CAPITA.— 
‘‘(i) ANNUAL
DETERMINATION.—Be-
ginning on the date of enactment of the 
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SAFE Streets Act, a metropolitan plan-
ning organization representing an urban-
ized area with a population greater than 
200,000 shall annually determine the num-
ber of vulnerable user road fatalities and 
serious injuries per capita in such area 
over the most recent 2-year period. 
‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT
TO
OBLIGATE 
FUNDS.—If such a metropolitan planning 
area organization determines that the 
number of vulnerable user road fatalities 
and serious injuries per capita in such area 
over the most recent 2-year period for 
which data are available exceeds the me-
dian number of such fatalities and serious 
injuries among all urbanized areas with a 
population of over 200,000, then there 
shall be obligated over the 2 fiscal years 
following the fiscal year in which such de-
termination is made an amount that is not 
less than 75 percent of the amount set 
aside for that urbanized area under section 
133(h)(2) for fiscal year 2020 for projects 
identified in the program of projects de-
scribed in subsection (l)(7)(C). 
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‘‘(E) SOURCE OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(i) METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGA-
NIZATION IN STATE REQUIRED TO OBLI-
GATE
FUNDS.—For a metropolitan plan-
ning organization in a State required to 
obligate funds to vulnerable user safety 
under subparagraph (A), the State shall be 
required to obligate from such amounts re-
quired to be obligated for vulnerable road 
user safety under subparagraph (B) for 
projects described in subsection (l)(7). 
‘‘(ii) OTHER
METROPOLITAN
PLAN-
NING
ORGANIZATIONS.—For a metropoli-
tan planning organization that is not lo-
cated within a State required to obligate 
funds to vulnerable user safety under sub-
paragraph (A), the State shall be required 
to obligate from amounts apportioned 
under section 104(b)(3) for projects de-
scribed in subsection (l)(7).’’; and 
(5) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(l) VULNERABLE ROAD USER SAFETY ASSESS-
MENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
date of enactment of the SAFE Streets Act, each 
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State shall create a vulnerable road user safety as-
sessment. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—A vulnerable road user safety 
assessment required under paragraph (1) shall in-
clude— 
‘‘(A) a description of the location within 
the State of each vulnerable road user fatality 
and serious injury and the design speed of the 
roadway at any such location; 
‘‘(B) a description of any corridors identi-
fied by a State, in coordination with local gov-
ernments, metropolitan planning organizations, 
and regional transportation planning organiza-
tions that pose a high risk of a vulnerable road 
user fatality or serious injury and the design 
speeds of such corridors; 
‘‘(C) a program of projects or strategies to 
reduce safety risks to vulnerable road users in 
corridors identified under subparagraph (B), in 
coordination with local governments, metropoli-
tan planning organizations, and regional trans-
portation planning organizations that represent 
a high-risk area identified under subparagraph 
(B); and 
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‘‘(A) take into consideration a safe system 
approach; and 
‘‘(B) coordinate with local governments, 
metropolitan planning organizations, and re-
gional transportation planning organizations 
that represent a high-risk area identified under 
paragraph (2)(B). 
‘‘(5) UPDATE.—A State shall update a vulner-
able road user safety assessment on the same sched-
ule as the State updates the State strategic highway 
safety plan. 
‘‘(6) TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ACCESS.—The 
program of projects developed under paragraph 
(2)(C) may not degrade transportation system ac-
cess for vulnerable road users. 
‘‘(7) METROPOLITAN PLANNING AREA ASSESS-
MENTS.—A metropolitan planning organization that 
represents an urbanized area with a population 
greater than 200,000 shall complete a vulnerable 
user safety assessment based on the most recent 5 
years of available data, unless an assessment was 
completed in the previous 5 years, including— 
‘‘(A) a description of the location within 
the urbanized area of each vulnerable road user 
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fatality and serious injury and the design speed 
of the roadway at any such location; 
‘‘(B) a description of any corridors that 
represent a high-risk area identified under 
paragraph (2)(B) that pose a high risk of a vul-
nerable road user fatality or serious injury and 
the design speeds of such corridors; and 
‘‘(C) a program of projects or strategies to 
reduce safety risks to vulnerable road users in 
corridors identified under subparagraph (B).’’. 
Æ 
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