July 27, 2026
Pedal to the metal... in reverse
US DOT deleting bike lane references
Bike lane guidance vanishes, and commenters are asking what on earth a 'DEI bike lane' even is
TLDR: The U.S. Department of Transportation has removed bike lane and crash-safety resources from its website, including tools used to study bike and pedestrian collisions. Online, the loudest reaction wasn’t confusion about traffic policy—it was disbelief that “DEI bike lanes” and “eat crickets” are now apparently part of the argument.
The federal government yanked a growing pile of bike and road safety pages off its website, and the internet immediately turned this into a full-blown comment-section cage match. The biggest spark? Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s promise to end support for so-called “DEI bike lanes,” a phrase that sent readers into a spiral of confusion, mockery, and rage. One commenter basically summed up the vibe: what even is a “DEI bike lane”? For many people, the phrase sounded less like policy and more like a political insult generator set to maximum chaos.
Then came the quote that launched a thousand eye-rolls: a Department of Transportation spokesperson slammed “the Left” for wanting everyone to ride bikes to “shoebox-sized” apartments and “eat crickets.” That line absolutely detonated in the discussion. Readers called it absurd, incoherent, and proof that culture-war zingers are replacing actual policy. Others pointed out the obvious practical angle: if drivers hate cyclists so much, why oppose bike lanes that move bikes out of car lanes and could reduce traffic? As one exasperated commenter put it, it sounds like a win-win that America still can’t manage.
Underneath the meme energy, people were genuinely alarmed that safety tools and guidance for preventing crashes are disappearing. A few tried to pull the conversation back to basics, asking sensible questions about whether the removed crash-analysis tool was widely used and whether there are backups. But the mood was clear: less outrage about bikes themselves, more disbelief that bicycle safety somehow became the latest political battlefield.
Key Points
- •NPR reported that bike- and pedestrian-safety materials have been removed or edited on the FHWA website in the weeks after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he would end support for "DEI bike lanes."
- •According to a DOT web support worker cited anonymously by NPR, FHWA staff were asked to identify and in some cases remove references to bikes and bike lanes.
- •NPR said dozens of FHWA safety pages were changed or removed, and that bike lanes and speed cameras were taken off the agency's list of "Proven Safety Countermeasures."
- •DOT said it is reviewing policies to ensure they promote safety, efficiency, and common sense, but the article says no formal detailed explanation was provided for the removals.
- •The Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash Analysis Tool, used to analyze crashes involving cars, pedestrians, and bicycles, was taken off the FHWA site; road-safety expert David Harkey said it is important for tracking fatalities and remains under review.