According to analysis by the Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. ranks WORST – dead last – amongst 28 other high-income nations they assessed. And while these numbers might be disheartening they show that the U.S. has immense potential to improve traffic safety. We can save lives because we have the tools, knowledge, and inspiration to turn the tide. In fact, communities that are embracing Vision Zero strategies are already proving that change is possible—with measurable progress and lives saved.
Communities like Fremont, Minneapolis, and Montgomery County, Maryland are showing that when they prioritize upstream safety strategies—such as redesigning streets for slower speeds with tools like narrowed lanes, speed humps, curb extensions, and improved signal timing—they see real results. In Minneapolis, fatal crashes dropped by 29% in just one year after scaling up safety improvements like curb extensions and safe lane conversions. And in Austin, targeted Vision Zero upgrades at 22 high-crash intersections led to a dramatic drop in crashes and saved the city more than $28 million in related costs. The takeaway is clear: when we invest in safety, we save lives.
In our March 24 webinar, Building a Strong Foundation for Safe Streets, we revisit the core principles of Vision Zero and the Safe System approach and dig into what it takes to institutionalize meaningful, lasting change to center safety in our transportation work.
(see 1-hour recording and slidedeck from March 24, 2025)
The webinar highlights several strategies to help ensure your Vision Zero work is more than just a plan on paper and, instead, results in meaningful change and long-lasting safety progress. Some examples include the following:
- Empower Vision Zero leadership: Give Vision Zero coordinators and task forces real authority, such as reporting directly to decisionmakers, and make sure they have an ongoing seat at the table on relevant policy. Vision Zero leaders should have the power to treat safety as a core responsibility and therefore be able to request rapid changes or veto unsafe street designs. As a result, local leadership that backs their work and commitment will be critical to build and sustain buy-in from key agency leaders.
- Prioritize upstream, design-based speed management: Rather than relying on traditional strategies like public awareness campaigns or increased traffic stops—which are often costly, short-lived, and can perpetuate racial disparities—Safe System based approaches are proactive and long lasting. Self-enforcing roads, designed through physical changes like narrower lanes, speed humps, roundabouts, and protected bike lanes, naturally encourage safer driving behavior. These changes create lasting, equitable safety benefits for all road users, without the downsides of both costly and punitive enforcement.
- Accelerate change through Quick Build projects: Streamline processes to act quickly after crashes or near misses. Tools like temporary curb extensions or painted bulb-outs can be implemented rapidly while permanent solutions are planned—saving lives in the meantime.
- Layer crash data with other data sources: Supplement traditional police-reported crash data with demographic, housing, and mobility data to ensure communities most impacted by traffic violence—including low-income neighborhoods and communities of color—are prioritized for safety improvements.
- Supplement crash data with community experience: Crash data doesn’t often tell the full story. In fact, research has shown that injuries for communities of color are regularly undercounted. Engaging directly with people who live and move about the areas most affected can help align traffic safety strategies with community values.
Whether your community is just beginning to explore Vision Zero or refining its existing efforts, we hope this webinar provides practical tools to make meaningful safety progress that lasts.