|
Abstract
|
In October 2021, United States (U.S.) Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) early fatality estimates for the first half of 2021. The news was troubling, as NHTSA estimated 20,160 people died in motor vehicle crashes during this period, up 18.4% compared to 2020 (National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 2021). These latest findings put the U.S. on track to exceed 40,000 annual fatalities for the first time since 2007. Prior to this announcement, the U.S. saw roadway fatalities steadily rise from 32,744 in 2014, to 38,680 in 2020 based on NHTSA's preliminary fatality data. Clearly, the U.S. needs to refocus and double down to address this alarming trend.
Over the past decade, several national initiatives have sought to reverse this course of events. In 2014, the Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) steering committee, of which the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) is a member, released A National Strategy on Highway Safety with the vision of a highway system free of fatalities through a sustained and even accelerated decline in transportation-related deaths and injuries. The National Strategy provided a platform for state agencies, private industry, national organizations and others to develop safety plans that prioritize traffic safety culture and promote the national TZD vision.
In January 2016, the Vision Zero Network, a nonprofit dedicated to helping communities eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries through safe, healthy and equitable mobility, launched the Vision Zero Focus Cities program. Ten U.S. cities committed to stepping up efforts to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries among all road users with a focus on pedestrian and bicycle related crashes. Today more than 40 communities participate.
The Road to Zero Coalition (RTZ) sought to unify TZD and Vision Zero efforts and in April 2018 produced The Road to Zero: A Vision for Achieving Zero Roadway Deaths by 2050 report. One of three strategies in the plan prioritized safety by creating a safety culture and adopting the Safe System approach. The Road to Zero Safe System Strategic Plan, produced by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), funded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), provides a roadmap for adopting the Safe System approach in the U.S. predominantly through an infrastructure lens.
This "infrastructure-centric" focus has led some national highway safety groups to question the role of behavioral safety in advancing the Safe System approach. However, some organizations, including GHSA, continue to promote the need to take a fully holistic approach to advancing safety — one that includes behavioral safety.
The State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs), GHSA's members, can and are playing a critical role in helping to advance the Safe System approach in partnership with engineers, planners, advocates, law enforcement agencies, educators and many others. |