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Citation
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Michael JP, Wells NM, Shahum L, Bidigare-Curtis HN, Greenberg SF, Xu T. J. Transp. Health 2021; 23: e101260. |
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Abstract
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Introduction
Efforts to keep U.S. roadways safe primarily rely on laws and their enforcement along with educational campaigns. This approach, however, falls far short of its objective as evidenced by nearly 40,000 roadway deaths and 2.7 million injuries annually. Moreover, the 19 million traffic stops per year associated with this approach create ongoing conflict between community members and their government and yield persistent concerns about racial and economic injustice.
Methods
This paper provides an analytic review of traditional approaches to roadway safety and an examination of inequities associated with conventional traffic law enforcement methods. The authors offer a viewpoint from their range of disciplines on the benefits of Safe Systems as an alternative approach that could make U.S. communities safer and more equitable.
Conclusions
By focusing on the design of the system rather than the behavior of the individual, the Safe Systems/Vision Zero approach makes crashes less likely and less injurious while reducing the burden on law enforcement and diminishing the potential for racially-charged conflict between the police and the public.
Language: en |