Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy fired off a letter Tuesday to the governors of all 50 states, urging them to promote public safety by removing any politically charged and distracting displays from public roads, including LGBT rainbow crosswalks.
“Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork. Today I am calling on governors in every state to ensure that roadways, intersections, and crosswalks are kept free of distractions,” Duffy said in a statement, according to a DOT press release.
“Far too many Americans die each year to traffic fatalities to take our eye off the ball. USDOT stands ready to help communities across the country make their roads safer and easier to navigate.”
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Taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks.
Political banners have no place on public roads. I’m reminding recipients of @USDOT roadway funding that it’s limited to features advancing safety, and nothing else. It’s that simple. https://t.co/hA5FBsVFXO
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) July 1, 2025
Duffy’s letter, which was also sent to District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón, asked the governors to comply with the Federal Highway Administration’s initiative titled “Safe Arterials for Everyone through Reliable Operations and Distraction-Reducing Strategies,” or “SAFE ROADS.”
“The SAFE ROADS national initiative will focus on the non-freeway arterials within your state, including safety and operation at intersections and along segments, consistent and recognizable traffic control devices including crosswalk and intersection markings, and orderly use of the right-of-way that is kept free from distractions,” Duffy wrote.
“These routes are where more than half of roadway fatalities in America occur and deserve enhanced attention.”
Duffy noted statistics that an estimated 39,345 people died on U.S. roads last year, a figure he described as “unacceptable” despite marking an improvement over 2023.
Citing data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Federal Highway Administration noted that almost half of roadway fatalities in the U.S. in 2023 occurred on “non-freeway/expressway arterials.”
Duffy gave each governor 60 days to identify needed safety improvements and “to develop a list of arterial segments, including intersections, with the highest safety, operational, or compliance concerns” to be addressed by the end of the next fiscal year.
In an X post, Duffy singled out rainbow crosswalks and other potentially distracting political imagery as potentially dangerous.
“Taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks,” he wrote. “Political banners have no place on public roads. I’m reminding recipients of [DOT] roadway funding that it’s limited to features advancing safety, and nothing else. It’s that simple.”
LGBT murals on public streets have popped up in multiple U.S. cities in recent years, often leading to acts of vandalism such as “burning out” or “doing donuts” on the display with a vehicle that could potentially endanger pedestrians. Those involved are sometimes slapped with felony charges, which potentially carry years’ worth of prison time.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
