EXCERPT:
BUTTIGIEG: "We’re living through a crisis in terms of roadway deaths. They have been on the rise and it's approaching 40,000 death as year. We would never tolerate 3,000 people a month being killed on public transit or in air travel. And yet we as a country have just gotten used to it when it comes to our roads. Not only that, even though it is felt everywhere, it is not felt equitably. Going into 2020, deaths nationwide on the roads were up 7%, but we’re up more than 20% for black Americans. There are a number of reasons going into that, including the fact that historically black neighborhoods are often less likely to have the kind of streetscapes that make it possible to get across to where you need to go safely. This is about pedestrian safety as well as that of those in the vehicle. So, we need to take action. And that's why we released this National Roadway Safety Strategy, and we’re putting dollars behind it. The federal programming for things like safe routes to school, safe roads for all, and reconnecting communities where people have had to make dangerous crossings just to get across town, just to get to work, just to get to school. We have to change that. And that’s something we’re determined to do. One of the best things I can think of to do with these dollars that have come through the bipartisan infrastructure law."