The Vision Zero movement believes that human error and bad behavior when traveling may be inevitable, but they don’t think it should cost you your life. Thoughtful expectation, engineering, education, and enforcement can reduce traffic fatalities, maybe even to zero. People will probably never completely stop doing foolish and dangerous things when they walk, cycle and drive, but it is possible to reduce the fatal and serious crashes that can result.
If you are available, come to the Streets are For People Rally, on Thursday, September 29th, 2016 from 6pm to 7pm on Boston City Hall Plaza to support Vision Zero.
Vision Zero works to reduce the large number of road deaths with solutions that are realistic, practical, effective, fair, data driven, and transparent. Vision Zero supports people in safe behavior, and expects responsible behavior, but doesn’t demand perfect behavior to make everyone safer. Vision Zero has correlated with dramatically reduced injury and death on roads in Sweden, New York City, and cities worldwide. To learn more, follow the links below.
“Gather with friends and neighbors in solidarity with those who have been killed in traffic crashes to call for swifter action to prevent these tragedies in the future.”
http://walkboston.org/streets-are-people-rally-thursday-929
“Vision Zero Boston is the commitment to focus the city’s resources on proven strategies to eliminate fatal and serious traffic crashes in the city by 2030, inspired by the belief that even one fatality is too many.”
http://walkboston.org/initiatives/vision-zero
“Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all.”
http://walkboston.org/initiatives/vision-zero
http://www.visionzerocoalition.or
Vision Zero is committed to being effective, fair, data driven and transparent.
http://visionzeronetwork.org/9-components-of-a-strong-vision-zero-commitment/
http://visionzeronetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/VZ-Components-Fact-Sheet.pdf
Vision Zero aims for realistic, practical solutions that support people in safe behavior and expects responsible behavior, but doesn’t demand perfect behavior from travelers.
“The focus thus shifts from solutions focused on perfecting individual behavior to solutions focused on perfecting a transportation system that failed to protect people who made predictable errors. As the Swedish architects of Vision Zero state: “In every situation a person might fail. The road system should not.” We have to design a system for people, instead of asking people to adjust to an imperfect system.’ ”
http://visionzeronetwork.org/project/1673/
http://visionzeronetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/VZN-Case-Study-1-What-makes-VZ-different.pdf
Vision Zero work in New York City has correlated with dramatically reduced numbers of people killed while traveling in cars, on motorcycles, and on foot.
“Traffic Fatalities
In 2015, 231 people lost their lives in a traffic crash, the fewest traffic deaths recorded in any year since 1910. 2014 and 2015, the first two years of Vision Zero, are also the first time all traffic fatalities have declined in two consecutive years in a decade. New York’s traffic fatality rate is approximately one- fourth the national fatality rate, in part because the number of people being killed in traffic crashes nationwide is climbing.”
Motorists and Passengers – In 2015, 61 motorists and passengers lost their lives in traffic crashes, below the average of recent years prior to the launch of Vision Zero.
Motorcyclists – In 2015, 22 motorcyclists lost their lives in traffic crashes, well below the average of recent years prior to the launch of Vision Zero.
Pedestrians – 2015 was the safest year for New Yorkers while walking in the City’s history. 134 pedestrians lost their lives in traffic crashes, below the average of recent years prior to Vision Zero.”
http://www.nyc.gov/html/visionzero/assets/vz-year-end-report.pdf