What does it mean when you hear that “Vision Zero is more than a goal? And more than just a slogan?”
It means that advancing Vision Zero is not about working harder or caring about safety more – it is about doing things differently. Vision Zero – and the underlying Safe System approach – is a fundamental shift in how we think about and make decisions about road safety and other, related issues.
What needs to change to shift to a more effective and equitable approach? What strategies work best? Who needs to be involved? And where do we start?
These are all questions covered in our newly updated Vision Zero 101 overview (see 1-hour recording and slides from May 29, 2024).
This is a helpful foundation for anyone new to Vision Zero – or anyone wondering if their work is on the right track.
Vision Zero-101 covers the following areas:
- The state of roadway safety in the U.S.
- An overview of Vision Zero fundamentals
- An overview of the Safe System approach & how it differs from the traditional Es approach to roadway safety
- Examples of Vision Zero in action around the U.S.
- Main challenges in advancing Vision Zero
- Key takeaways
It also includes how to integrate public health principles – or an upstream, proactive, and preventative approach – to road safety work, and how to prioritize health equity at all levels, including the need to right-size the role of enforcement in Vision Zero. (See more in Prioritizing Health Equity in Vision Zero Planning, which shares strategies for advancing both effective AND equitable roadway safety work.)
If you’re a community that’s won – or is trying to win – a USDOT Safe Streets & Roads for All (SS4A) grant, Vision Zero-101 can help.
And check out other, related resources:
- Fundamentals of Vision Zero Action Planning, which includes a plethora of resources for communities looking to adopt Vision Zero but aren’t sure where to start;
- Fundamentals of the Safe System Approach, which offers a deeper dive into the Safe System approach and how it differs from the traditional approach to roadway safety; and
- Safe System Approach pyramid overview, which offers a closer look at the framework designed to help practitioners prioritize safety interventions that have community-wide impact.
We hope you’ll find these resources valuable in your safety work. And we encourage you to share this recording and resources with colleagues, friends, neighbors, or other concerned citizens who are also interested in understanding how to advance and achieve Vision Zero in their communities.