We are proud to share a new resource, Right-Sizing the Role of Traffic Enforcement: Prioritizing Effective, Cost-Efficient and Equitable Improvements to Road Safety, which aims to help Vision Zero practitioners, advocates and policymakers take a more data-informed and equitable approach to traffic enforcement.
About This Effort
The nation faces a road safety crisis, with the number of people killed and severely injured in traffic crashes rising significantly in recent years. The U.S. has the worst traffic death rate among 28 high-income countries.
At the same time, communities are grappling with reductions in police staffing levels and unrealistic expectations of law enforcement’s capacity.
Evidence shows that road safety efforts in the U.S. can achieve better results. This starts by assessing and updating strategies to be the most effective, cost-efficient and equitable. This report is intended to be a conversation starter and offers actions, particularly to local transportation professionals and police officers, to evaluate and, where needed, right-size the role of traffic enforcement to best meet public safety needs.
Long reports not your thing? The companion brief distills the key takeaways into a quick, accessible format.
Following is a summary of the recommendations:
Using a Safe System Approach
Research and experience show that road safety strategies are most effective as part of a broad Safe System approach. This focuses on designing and operating systems in which traffic crashes are less likely to occur and, when they do occur, they are less severe. Recognizing that human error is inevitable, this approach prioritizes environments and systems that are more forgiving and that make safe behaviors the easiest options.
Safe System Examples include:
- Designing streets with traffic calming measures that physically deter dangerous speeding. Examples include adding speed humps, traffic circles, physically separated bikeways and using median dividers on two-lane roads to prevent head-on crashes and to lessen the severity of collisions that do occur. These upfront investments have long-lasting benefits, encouraging safer behaviors by most drivers.
- Setting speed limits based on safety priorities, not just to maximize vehicle throughput. Traffic signals can also be timed to encourage safe speeds. Speed matters: the difference between someone being hit by a vehicle driven at 25mph vs 40mph can mean life or death
- Leveraging technologies for safety. Alcohol interlock devices reduce dangerous drunk driving among repeat offenders. Similarly, Intelligent Speed Assistance devices offer low-cost, targeted ways to deter repeat super-speeders. Speed safety cameras can provide 24/7 deterrence to dangerous behavior at a fraction of the cost of in-person traffic stops. (Using speed safety cameras effectively, equitably)
Read more about how enforcement fits into a Safe System Approach in Section 1 of the full report.
Upstream, proactive road safety strategies can address the root causes of serious crashes in ways that last longer and cost less.
Benefits of upstream road safety strategies
Upstream efforts, such as those listed above, provide longer lasting safety benefits and cost less over time, compared to over-relying on traffic stops. They are more equitable, less punitive and address cycles of disinvestment that contribute to poor safety and health outcomes and erode community trust.
A Safe System approach includes traffic enforcement, with strategies used selectively to optimize police time and to deliver the most effective, cost-efficient and equitable safety results. By investing in safe systems proactively – improving the built environment, vehicle design and technology tools – the number and severity of crashes are reduced, safety is improved and the need for traffic stops is lessened.
Prioritizing Safety-Stops over Non-Safety Stops
To improve road safety, U.S. jurisdictions are increasingly limiting non-safety traffic stops, such as low-level administrative and equipment violations, which are not directly correlated to injury crashes. Among other benefits, this allows police to focus limited resources on genuine risks, including speeding and impaired and reckless driving.
Crash data shows that low-level infractions, such as mirror or windshield issues, are implicated in just 0.2% of fatal crashes nationwide. Research shows that traffic stops are not proven to reduce other crimes, rarely yield useful crime-solving information and create unnecessary flashpoints of confrontation that endanger both officers and road users.
Safety-focused stops are directly correlated to dangerous behaviors that cause injury-related and fatal crashes. Speeding and impaired driving are among the most deadly. There is widespread agreement these behaviors are the most hazardous and merit the greatest safety focus. Read more about the difference between safety stops and non-safety stops in Section 2 of the full report.
Recommendations to Integrate Enforcement in a Safe System Approach
Use planning processes to align enforcement with clear road safety objectives
- Engage community stakeholders to shape the role and scope of traffic enforcement
- Collect, share and use traffic stop data to regularly assess safety needs and enforcement impacts and outcomes
Prioritize upstream, non-punitive strategies wherever possible
- Focus attention on the most dangerous road behaviors, while limiting non-safety traffic stops that do not address serious threats and divert police resources (See models for policies in the report)
- Consider technology-based solutions, such as speed safety cameras and Intelligent Speed Assistance to provide 24/7 safety benefits and reduce reliance on traffic stops
- Issue fix-it tickets and repair vouchers rather than citations for non-urgent equipment violations
Engage law enforcement as "eyes and ears" in the community
- Police can help identify road hazards and upstream solutions before serious crashes occur
- Prioritize collaborative problem-solving and shared responsibility among agencies with regular meetings and information-sharing
Read the full report about Rightsizing Traffic Enforcement. Find out more about Prioritizing Health Equity in Vision Zero Planning and Fair Warnings: Recommendations to Promote Equity in Speed Safety Camera Programs.