Advocating for Pro-Technology Regulations in the Drive to Improve Road Safety in the US

Michelle Fenty, External Counsel, Transurban
Madeline Meckes, Corporate Counsel, Transurban
Lakshmi Williams, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, North America, Transurban

In the United States, traffic fatalities and unsafe driving behaviors have become an even greater problem in the post-COVID world. Despite significant reductions in drivers on the road during the COVID-19 pandemic and thereafter, traffic fatalities surged to the highest level in over a decade, along with an increase in risky driving behaviors such as impairment, distracted driving, speeding, red-light running, aggressiveness, and non-seatbelt use. The rise in fatalities has increased alongside the increase in technology available to drivers, including cell phones, in-car technology features, and automated driving functions.