The Vision Zero Changemaker

Andrew Ceifetz is a vice president and director, transportation safety, at WSP. He has dedicated his career to making the nation’s roadways safer for all who use them by collaborating with clients nationwide to implement Vision Zero strategies aimed at eliminating traffic-related injuries and fatalities.

United States | Thursday, May 2, 2024
Reading Time : 5:16 minutes

You might say that Andrew Ceifetz followed his nose to a civil engineering career, but it was a tragic incident in his family’s history that nudged him to his professional niche. Ceifetz leads WSP’s efforts to support departments of transportation nationwide in their approach to Vision Zero, a road safety strategy aimed at eliminating traffic injuries and fatalities.

From his office in Detroit, Ceifetz takes enormous satisfaction in the important work of making our communities safer. But he’s often on the road. The job takes him coast-to-coast, from the heart of busy downtowns to secluded rural intersections where, sadly, crashes happen.

Ceifetz, working closely with his clients, is determined to change that.

What inspires or motivates you in your career?

Let me start at the beginning. I thought I was going to save the planet and be an environmental engineer. And then I toured a wastewater plant on a hot spring day and realized that wasn’t for me. So, I pivoted. Road safety became a passion of mine, and, in hindsight, maybe there was something in the back of my mind pushing me toward this work. My dad's father was killed by a drunk driver. I never met the man. So, like many other people, I have a personal connection to transportation safety.

I'm not a doctor but I get to save lives every day. It's a great feeling to work in civil engineering and literally transform the world. We're making a real impact on communities and people's lives and it's satisfying. It's something bigger than ourselves. I mean, I would love to say that I've worked myself out of a job at some point, that we've solved the crash problem and nobody's getting injured or killed on our roads. That would be the perfect end to my career.

What’s the biggest challenge to Vision Zero’s success?

Changing people's attitudes and perceptions of transportation. I don't speak with anyone who believes it’s acceptable for people to be seriously injured or killed when walking or driving or biking, but few are quick to volunteer making changes themselves. There are so many proven countermeasures out there and behaviors that we know about that are effective at reducing the frequency and severity of crashes. But there's often a lot of resistance implementing them.

People don't like change. For example, when a roundabout is proposed it's not uncommon to hear, “Well, that won't work here yet.” But we wouldn't be proposing it as a solution if there weren’t proven safety and operational benefits. There are fewer severe crashes, less waiting than at a red light, and there's continued operation during a power outage. There are all sorts of benefits that people don't even think about, but if they stop and take a step back, they see that maybe there really is something to trying something different or something that has worked elsewhere.

Andrew Ceifetz

Vice President, Advisory and Practice Lead for Highway Safety Policy

United States

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My goal is to make things safer. Every day I read, or I hear about some horrific crash shattering a family or a community. These aren't just statistics. Every one of those numbers is a family member, a neighbor. These are real people with unique stories who don't get to go home to their loved ones.

Why do you think people aren't willing to change?

I think it's inertia. We've been doing the same thing for so long that it's hard to pivot and course correct. But what we've been doing doesn’t work. We need to change the way we think and design and build and operate on our roadways. We have to empower people to lower speed limits when it makes sense to do so. We must explain why adding a minute or two to somebody's commute is acceptable for the betterment of their entire community. Funding is a big challenge, too. We have older infrastructure, and there's always going to be funding priorities. But if we can help prioritize Vision Zero investments and demonstrate those projects are going to have the biggest return on investment, we can really start moving the needle.

Andrew moderates a traffic safety panel, from Zero to Vision Zero, at the first Vision Zero

Summit in Texas in 2022.

What are some of the impactful projects you have been part of?

I love participating in road safety audits. They're opportunities for improvement and to provide those countermeasures. One project I’m proud of with WSP is a guidebook for Federal Highway Administration for developing safety plans. The guidebook parallels the framework for many safety planning efforts we're working on for the Safe Streets for All program. The same steps and processes we documented 12 or 13 years ago now underpin the work we’re doing today. It's a cool thing to see.

Why do you enjoy working at WSP?

I love the people I work with. I love the building that I work in. We're in an almost 100-year-old art deco skyscraper in the heart of Detroit. I can go into my office and look down over the bustling city and literally see the rebuild that's happened there over the past 20 years and WSP’s been part of it. I love that I get to converse with people across the US and across the world. I love that we're changemakers, actively working to make a better place. It's really living what we do and doing what we live.

I'm not a doctor but I get to save lives every day. It's a great feeling to work in civil engineering and literally transform the world. We're making a real impact on communities and people's lives and it's satisfying. It's something bigger than ourselves.

WSP puts people and community at the center of our purpose as an organization and in the work we deliver just as you just described. So how does or can the work you do positively impact the communities WSP serves?

Everyone has their niche. Some colleagues are working to deliver projects faster. Some are working to make our infrastructure last longer. My goal is to make things safer. Every day I read, or I hear about some horrific crash shattering a family or a community. These aren't just statistics. Every one of those numbers is a family member, a neighbor. These are real people with unique stories who don't get to go home to their loved ones.

I would be more than happy if my work isn't talked about. Let's get everyone home safely and conveniently. No more stories about crashes. No more tickers showing a new traffic death. The best news I could get is knowing that our work is complete. It's going to be hard. We're not going to wake up next year and find that we've magically hit that zero number. We're going to continually work and identify policies and projects and help people get the funding that moves us toward Vision Zero.