Over the past decade, Vision Zero Network has published hundreds of blogs aiming to help people rethink the status quo state of roadway safety, to commit to bold change, and to bring urgency and action to prioritizing safe, healthy, equitable communities. From foundational resources to timely reactions to what’s happening on the ground, we hope these resources lift up what’s work and remind us that change is possible.
As part of our 10-year anniversary, we’re highlighting the Top 10 most-visited Vision Zero Network blogs – the ones that practitioners, advocates, and decision makers have given the most attention to. We hope you may revisit a few or discover new pieces that resonate with your road safety work.
10 - A Decade of Vision Zero: Gauging Progress & Barriers
After 10 years of Vision Zero in the U.S., it’s worth taking note of where and how communities have made real progress and where and why barriers persist. This November 2025 blog offers a candid exploration of Vision Zero’s evolution, sharing both meaningful gains and some stubborn challenges, including underinvestments in safety strategies to common institutional pitfalls. Drawing from a conversation with local leaders from Austin, TX; Seattle, WA; and Louisville, KY as part of the Vision Zero Cities 2025 Conference, it’s clear to see that progress is possible but also slower and harder than we’d all like. These three cities offer a reality check about playing the long-game for Vision Zero, while also serving as inspiration for scaling up what works to make sustained progress.
9 - Use These Tools to Save Lives: Quick, Low-Cost, Effective Street Redesigns
Life-saving changes on our streets don’t need to take years of planning or massive capital budgets. This August 2022 blog highlights how communities are leveraging quick-build, low-cost street redesign tools to improve road safety in a matter of weeks or months, not years or decades. This ranges from tightening intersections, narrowing travel lanes, calming fast traffic, and creating more space and visibility for people walking and biking – in less time and with less cost. Check out this piece for a powerful reminder that progress doesn’t have to wait for perfect conditions or once-in-a-decade budgets. We can make lasting change now.
Caption: NYC Asphalt Art Activations that act as bulb outs. “Birds – Eye View” by Mary Carter Taub. Photo credit: NYC DOT
8 - Making Speed Safety Cameras Effective & Fair: From Planning to Action
For some time, using speed safety cameras felt inaccessible to some, mainly because of state-level barriers and concerns about inequitable impacts. Studies showed many things: cameras could effectively curb dangerous speeding; some analysis showed disproportionate ticketing among Black residents; while others highlighted a high number of non-local drivers cutting through these same neighborhoods – contributing to harm and underscoring the need for additional safety tools. Valid equity concerns are what encouraged us to convene a working group of Vision Zero practitioners, advocates, researchers, and criminal justice leaders to develop a set of recommendations that help communities using speed safety cameras do so in ways that don’t disproportionately impact communities of color and low-income communities. After nearly 16 months, we produced a report to address these concerns head-on: Fair Warnings: Recommendations to Promote Equity in Speed Safety Camera Programs. As outlined in the report, we believe speed safety cameras – when planned, implemented and monitored thoughtfully – can be an effective and equitable tool in the speed management toolbox. This February 2025 blog recaps our webinar An Overview of Equity Protections in Speed Camera Programs, sharing recommendations such as how to guard against disproportionate financial impacts for individuals and against municipalities' overreliance on ticket revenue; build community buy-in and transparency; use camera programs as near-term tools while increasing the more appropriate and lasting strategy of proactively designing roads and managing speeds to be safe without over-relying on reactive, punitive enforcement strategies. These recommendations are already being put into action: San Francisco’s speed safety camera policy, passed several years ago, is demonstrating measurable impact – showing a 72% average reduction in speeding at camera locations – while Minneapolis’s newly launched program closely aligns with our equity-centered framework.
7 - “Distracted Pedestrians”: Distracting from the Real Issues
Too often, when a pedestrian is hit and injured or, especially, killed, the narrative points the blame at them. This June 2020 blog calls on practitioners, advocates, media, and policymakers to debunk the myth that distracted walking is a leading safety problem. While distraction may play a small role in some serious crashes, research shows it is far from a leading factor in pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries. Over-focusing on “distracted pedestrians” not only misrepresents the data, but also steers policy conversations away from solutions that are proven to reduce harm. So, the next time someone points to distracted walking as the reason that more pedestrians are being injured and killed, please fact-check and challenge their assumptions.
From a 2019 campaign by Colorado DOT. Eyes literally on the street? Photo: Andy Bosselman
6 - What We’re Getting Wrong About Vision Zero
In this January 2024 blog we reflect on two major shifts needed to make meaningful progress on safe mobility for all. Drawing lessons from public health successes such as decades of reductions in smoking and millions of lives saved, we can see that transformative change is possible – in terms of road safety too. It starts with recognizing that the response must match the scale of the problem. And it will take making decisions based on the realities of physics and moving beyond today’s piecemeal approach to change.
5 - It’s Time to Evolve Beyond the E’s Approach to Traffic Safety
Engineering, education, enforcement, emergency services, etc. — the traditional “E’s” of traffic safety — have shaped a century’s worth of roadway safety practices. While the individual E’s play a role, this January 2022 blog urges Vision Zero champions to evolve beyond the status quo to take on a less siloed and more prevention-oriented Safe Systems approach. This entails honestly assessing which strategies are most effective and most equitable – and moving away from those that are not meeting those standards. Over the past century, U.S. traffic safety strategies have depended disproportionately on influencing individual behaviors – including expecting too much of the E’s of Enforcement and Education. We need to recognize the inequities and limitations in over-emphasizing enforcement and education, while investing more in truly safe systems that make safe behavior the easiest choice for people – via safe road design, speeds set at safe limits for all road users, safe vehicle design, and more. Achieving a Safe System will take time. It will take a new, collective responsibility to confront and change centuries-old norms, patterns, and systems. And it will bring greater safety for all.
4 - HIN for the WIN
A High Injury Network (HIN) is one of the most powerful tools Vision Zero communities can use to kick off their work. Identifying corridors with repeated fatal and severe injury crashes helps city staff make the most of limited resources, while also building greater public and political support for change. Recognizing the power of this approach, this March 2018 blog explains why mapping the relatively small percentage of streets where the highest numbers of traffic deaths and serious injuries occur helps prioritize safety investments more effectively and equitably. Rather than spreading resources thinly across an entire community or only responding to the squeakiest wheels, using HINs can focus attention and action toward the greatest safety impacts.
High Injury Networks from left to right: Tampa, FL; Tacoma, WA; and Omaha, NE
3 – 9 Components of a Strong Vision Zero Commitment
Advancing the goal of zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries requires moving past a “business as usual” mindset. Drawing from the experiences of early-adopter Vision Zero cities across the U.S., this July 2022 blog identifies the most critical elements to building a strong and durable foundation for Vision Zero progress. It highlights 9 core components that distinguish symbolic commitments from those positioned to deliver real safety outcomes, including strong leadership, accountability, equity, data-driven prioritization, and transparency. While Vision Zero practices will continue to evolve — these components are standing the test of time.
2 - Applying the Health Impact Pyramid to Roadway Safety
What if we treated traffic safety like the public health issue it is? Good news: there is a framework to help do exactly that. In this January 2024 blog, we recap a discussion with David Ederer, formerly of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Meghan Mitman of Fehr & Peers, sharing strategies and practical frameworks to help practitioners implement a more effective, public health–inspired approach to road safety. Drawing from public health practice, this blog explores how the pyramid can be leveraged to identify which interventions require the least individual effort while delivering the greatest population-level benefit. This piece challenges us to recognize the deeper, systemic causes of traffic violence and how to prioritize strategies for the greatest safety impact.
The Safe System Pyramid was adapted from the Health Impact Pyramid to more fully address roadway safety needs. Source: The Safe Systems Pyramid: A New Framework for Traffic Safety
1 - Fundamentals of the Safe System Approach
Whether you’re new to Vision Zero or seeking to realign existing efforts around deeper, system-level change, March 2023 blog offers essential insights and practical perspective on how to build safer, more just transportation systems. It breaks down key principles of a Safe System, such as shared responsibility, redundancy, and prioritizing human life over speed, and shows how these translate into more proactive, equitable strategies for street design, policy, and investment. Together, these principles offer a clear roadmap for turning Vision Zero from commitment into everyday practice.
You can access hundreds of Vision Zero Network blogs and resources for more ideas, inspiration, and models for change as you work toward the safe streets we all deserve in our communities.
Don’t miss the rest of our 10-Year Anniversary series, including other Top 10 installments to find out what’s giving us hope and what still needs real attention after 10 years of Vision Zero advocacy.
And keep up-to-date on all the latest Vision Zero news in our monthly e-newsletter.