H.R. 4904: PHASE Act of 2025

H.R. 4904, the PHASE Act of 2025, is a focused pedestrian-safety bill aimed at reducing crashes and deaths involving pedestrians and other vulnerable road users. It directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Department of Transportation to work together on possible traffic-control upgrades that help vehicle operators, including bicyclists, while also protecting pedestrians. A key guardrail is that NIST has to provide evidence that any proposed technology does not “overwhelm, overstimulate, or otherwise distract” drivers, bicyclists, or pedestrians, and every solution has to comply with applicable Federal regulations.

The bill also orders the Secretary of Transportation to study urban areas, as determined by the Bureau of the Census, where pedestrian fatalities have increased based on data available as of the date of enactment. That study has to look at physical alternatives that could reduce crashes and deaths, and it specifically examines “intelligent speed assistance” and “blind spot detection safety systems,” including whether blind spot detection can identify all road users in time. The reporting clock is firm: the Transportation Secretary must send the results to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the House Committee on Appropriations not later than 2 years after enactment.

On the ground, the bill creates a grant program for cities, Indian Tribes, and municipalities. The list of eligible projects is broad and concrete: innovative technology for crosswalks, additional pedestrian facilities on and off-road, expanded buffer zones, pedestrian crossings, better bridge access for pedestrians, upgraded highway traffic signals, accessible pedestrian signals, accessible sidewalks, more signage, more lighting at crossings, adaptive or intelligent roadway and pedestrian lighting, accessible curb ramps, and marked crosswalks and grade-separated crossings. Any funded infrastructure must comply with all applicable Federal regulations and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, cited as 42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.

The money is modest but real: the bill authorizes $5,000,000 for each fiscal year. That is not enough to remake every dangerous street, but it could help local governments test and build targeted safety improvements in high-risk areas. In practice, the bill is trying to combine federal research, a 2-year accountability deadline, and annual funding to move pedestrian safety from broad concern to specific projects cities and Tribes can actually build.