A Strategic Focus to Reduce Injuries and Fatalities on U.S. Roads

While U.S. road fatalities have declined over the past three decades, those numbers have recently started to increase, reaching 42,939 in 2021 – the largest number of traffic deaths since 2005. Slight declines in 2022 and 2023 are still not enough.

WSP supports multiple initiatives that aim to reverse that national trend: Vision Zero, a global movement aimed at eliminating deaths and injuries by enhancing safety in ways traditionally overlooked in this country; and Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A), a U.S. government grant program that funds regional, local and tribal initiatives to prevent roadway deaths and injuries.

Vision Zero is based on the principle that “it can never be ethically acceptable that people are killed or injured when moving within a road transport system.” It originated in Sweden in 1997 and has spread to other countries, including the U.S.

Vision Zero examines how transportation infrastructure is designed, redesigned, reallocated and built, and includes developing strategies for how these projects are prioritized for needed funding.

The program is a departure from traditional thinking, which seeks to correct human behavior that can lead to a greater risk for a vehicle accident – like speeding or driving while intoxicated.

With Vision Zero, the onus is shared between planners, system designers, engineers and roadway users to develop and adapt road transportation systems with intentional and genuine community engagement to eliminate deaths and injuries by advancing safety design that benefits anyone using those roads, including pedestrians and cyclists. 

The SS4A program provides funding to local agencies that often have responsibility for local streets, including collectors and arterials in urban settings. Historically, infrastructure improvements at the local street level haven’t received the same levels of government funding as larger facilities that are under the jurisdiction of state departments of transportation. The SS4A program provides a mechanism for local agencies to directly seek funding they need for vital safety improvements.

WSP is currently leading multiple projects aligned with Vision Zero goals, such as developing policy and design manuals that provide design considerations and flexibility for states, counties and cities to better accommodate safety for all road users. The firm is collecting data and input from individuals who live in impacted areas to create holistic action plans that include education, engagement and engineering improvements. 

In fact, WSP is advancing Vision Zero in communities around the world – not just in the U.S.; examples include completing technical studies and safety evaluations for cities like Montreal, devising road safety strategies and action plans for municipalities in Sweden, developing long-term regional cycling strategies for subregions in Australia, and developing an action plan and a data-driven system (BAYVIZ) to help transportation stakeholders in San Francisco. WSP also assists with various community efforts to help build support for Vision Zero.   

Few people want to talk about the number of deaths on U.S. roads, yet having a serious conversation about this uncomfortable topic is necessary. We must have frank discussions about balancing transportation, access and mobility.

While traffic fatalities declined slightly in 2022, they are still too close to the 2021 numbers, which were the highest in 16 years.

There is a clear equity component to this work, since many under-represented communities experience higher rates of fatalities. The SS4A program is aimed at prioritizing investments for long-overlooked projects in areas where investment has lacked.

To truly move the needle and reduce fatalities, we need to examine more than just crash data and engage in honest and action-oriented conversations that include a diverse group of stakeholders.

Longstanding efforts by auto manufacturers to continually add safety features to their vehicles – like seat belts, airbags, anti-lock braking systems, safety glass and, more recently, the use of camera and radar technology – have made travel safer.

But these features are aimed at protecting people inside the vehicles, and some of these improvements often have detrimental impacts on people outside the vehicle. The popularity of trucks and SUVs has provided drivers with enhanced visibility, but the taller front profile of vehicles increases the risk of severe head and chest injuries to pedestrians and cyclists.

Additionally, many of these safety enhancements add weight to a vehicle and absorb energy with crush zones that transfer energy to the vehicle’s frame, but do not afford the same protections to pedestrians or cyclists.

This is why SS4A is a difference maker in helping agencies reach Vision Zero. It provides a framework and funding to identify their needs in a data-driven and equitable manner, engages with stakeholders and the public to confirm these needs and helps agencies develop a plan to prioritize their needs when seeking funding or considering future improvements.   

It is imperative to partner with clients in multiple cities, counties and metropolitan planning organizations to quantify their needs and identify potential sources of funding to make meaningful safety improvements.

The SS4A program is one of many available grant programs and a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan is a roadmap that agencies can use for safety improvements regardless of the funding source.

Any thought that we can achieve zero deaths on U.S. roads and highways within the next five-to-10 years is noble, but unrealistic. It may take decades to achieve this objective, and it will be difficult.

Regardless, we must do everything we can to reach this goal. No one settles for a “Vision Five” plan. Every step towards zero — every intermediate milestone — is meaningful.

A national grassroots effort is needed, including a top-down approach that prioritizes funding for safety improvements at the local level and a bottom-up approach where local municipalities look at the programs and projects they can implement.

Together, we can make a difference and make a vision of safer roads a reality.

For more information about Vision Zero, check out these resources:

• WSP Vision Zero Services
• What if Road Transport Engineers Champion Vision Zero?
• Building Support for Vision Zero in Texas
• Kansas City Vision Zero Action Plan
• Broward County Regional Safety Action Plan
• Bay Area Vision Zero Action Plan and BAYVIZ System