Toward Zero Deaths: The National Strategy on Highway Safety

Brian Roberts, National Association of County EngineersJune 14, 2016

[Introduce yourself]1

Every year, traffic crashes claim 32,000 of our nations adults, teenagers, and children. Each is a tragic loss to a family.To put that into perspective, thats a jetliner carrying 90 people crashing every day of the year. Traffic crashes also caused 2.34 million injuries (more than four each minute) in 2014. Many of the injuries were so serious that the abilities and lives of the victims were permanently changed.And it is not only these victims that were directly impacted; those close to them suffer too. Nearly half of all Americans have been involved in a serious crash or had a friend or relative seriously injured or killed in a crash. The bottom line is simple: these statistics translate into massive human grief and suffering. They are proof that a strong Toward Zero Deaths program is needed in America, and needed now.

Progress

Over the years weve made significant progress in fatality reduction, but we need to keep the momentum going. Many are concerned that the reduction in traffic fatalities may plateau, as has occurred in the past. Without a renewed approach, the national toll may continue at its current levels or even trend upward. Now is the time for our nation to band together and set an aggressive, zero-based goal. Everyone already has a goal of zero deaths for their family. Its time for us to adopt that vision as a nation.

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% Fatalities on Rural Roads (FARS 2011)

Vision: A highway system free of fatalities, changing the nations culture to the point where even one traffic-related death is unacceptable

6Toward Zero Deaths: A National Strategy on Highway Safety is our nations zero-based traffic safety vision. The National Strategy provides a single vision for safety stakeholders nationwide. It's a vision to drive individual and collaborative efforts. The vision is a highway system free of fatalities. That means changing the nations culture until even one traffic-related death is unacceptable.

Stakeholders

A broad base of stakeholders developed the National Strategy.

These stakeholders represent wide-ranging interests, including public education, medical services, transportation, law enforcement and business.

And if we are to succeed in reducing fatalities, it will take the combined effort of everyone.

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Safety Culture

To make progress toward a zero-based goal, we as an American culture need to change our attitudes about highway safety. We refer to this as safety culture. It starts at an individual, personal level, transforming the level of risk individuals are willing to take. Road users need to make safety-driven decisions. We need to explore what influences road users who too often make unsafe decisions, why and how these influences have such an impact. Road users who lack concern for how their actions affect others, travel unsafely to save time, or overestimate their abilities may harm themselves or others. Positively changing the safety culture among road users means leading them to understand the potential results of their actions or inactions. They need to believe that they must base their decisions primarily on safety.

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Safety CultureSafety culture is more than public information campaignsSafety must be a factor in every transportation decision

But safety culture is about more than just individual behavior change. One of the unique things about the TZD National Strategy is that it applies safety culture to decision-making at all levels. It involves safety as a valued factor in every transportation decision, whether personal or organizational. From a professional or organizational perspective, changing the safety culture would ensure safety impacts are considered during decision making that affects any portion of the roadway transportation network and its operation, as well as how employees within an organization are considering safety in their decisions about using roads.

For example, Volvo has announced a goal to produce a product leading to zero deaths by the year 2020. Zero fatalities is part of their organizational culture. It's ingrained in the decisions theyre making about vehicle design. Another example is Subaru. Theyre known for marketing their vehicles as safe. They're now focused on producing the best possible avoidance system.

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TZD Emphasis Areas

Drivers and Passengers

Infrastructure

Emergency Medical ServicesVulnerable Users

VehiclesData Processes

The TZD National Strategy covers six emphasis areas where safety culture is needed. The emphasis areas involve road users, vehicles and the roadway environment or infrastructure. Each contributes to risk and provides opportunities for mitigating risk. They include factors contributing to a crash or crashes before, during and after crashes.The six areas are: Drivers and passengers Vulnerable users Vehicles Infrastructure Emergency medical services (EMS) Safety management and data processes

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TZD Emphasis AreasDrivers and Passengers

The National Strategy outlines ideas for short-, mid- and long-term improvements in each emphasis area.For example: Drivers and passengers: A short-term strategy might be toenact targeted enforcement for speeding-related offenses. Vulnerable users: A short- to mid-term strategy would be a public education campaign about pedestrian safety for pedestrians and drivers. Vehicles: A mid- to long-term strategy would be opening up universal access to vehicle history reports for damage of used vehicles. Infrastructure: Short- and mid-term strategies might include improving signal timing for protective left-turn phases, improving clearance intervals and coordinating nearby signals. Emergency medical services: A strategy might be planning and implementing Next Generation 911. Data processes: Strategies that are widely needed are improved crash data collection and data sharing.

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Safer Drivers and PassengersIncrease restraint use by drivers and passengers. Reduce speeding-related fatalities. Reduce impaired driving fatalities. Reduce driver distraction-related fatalities. Increase safety of young drivers. Increase safety of older drivers

Safer Vulnerable Users

Vulnerable UsersPedestrians and Bicyclists Increased fatalities in 2011 and 2012Motorcyclists4.9M in 2001 to 8.4M in 2011 RegisteredHighway Workers 609 Fatalities in 2012

Safer Infrastructure

InfrastructureEndless resources and countermeasuresWe need the $$$$!Low cost countermeasures

Safer Vehicles

Enable Communication with Other Vehicles and the Roadway Enable Communication with Other Vehicles and the Roadway

Automated Vehicles (AV)Enable Communication with Other Vehicles and the Roadway (V2V) Vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technologiesV2X

Enhanced Emergency Medical Services

Of the drivers who died while being transported to the hospital, 75 % were rural drivers compared to 25% for urban drivers

Improved Safety Management

Why Data?Its all about the data!This can be a challenge for LocalsData Driven SafetyUltimately required for fundingNo Data No Funding

ImplementationTZD needs a championYou may already have a head startDo you already have a zero-based goal?What are you already doing thats listed in the National Strategy?

So how do you get TZD off the ground in your community? First of all, TZD needs a champion a person who will raise the banner in their organization or community. It can start with you, in your office. Second, you may already have initiatives underway that align with the National Strategy. Often you dont have to start from scratch. You can generate support for a TZD program by demonstrating how it fits naturally with work youre already doing.Its important to note that the National Strategy is adaptable to local conditions. TZD offers a vision that unifies our efforts across the country. However, actual implementation should fit local needs, priorities, values and customs.26

ImplementationCollaboration is keyWho are your current partners?Who else can you bring to the table? How can you work together to realize a common vision? What do you need to do in your area to bring people into the fold on a zero-based goal?

The National Strategy emphasizes partnership and collaboration. You cant do it alone. A key step to getting started is to determine who you can collaborate with. Gather a core group of supporters that can act as a spark plug to get the TZD engine running. Identify who your current partners are and who your additional partners should be. The greatest benefit will be achieved by reaching across traditional boundaries between organizations. Find new ways for the broader transportation safety community to work together. Be creative -- there may be great partners in your own community that you havent even thought of yet.

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NACE ImplementationFormal adoptionEstablish inter-departmental and/or inter-agency work groupReview and consider all identified strategiesCommit to data collection and analysisParticipate with State SHSPsDevelop Local Safety Improvement PlansContinuing education

Once youve gathered a support base, what does actual implementation look like? Heres an example of implementation steps developed by the National Association of County Engineers:Formal adoptionEstablish inter-departmental and/or inter-agency work groupReview and consider all identified strategiesCommit to data collection and analysisParticipate with State SHSPsDevelop Local Safety Improvement PlansContinuing education

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TZD SupportUse Toward Zero Deaths as a resourceNational network of like-minded colleaguesEngage and build on collective knowledge

TZD offers a growing national network of people and organizations committed to the National Strategy. The TZD organization and the National Strategy document are free resources open to all who are interested. We want as many people as possible to support the Toward Zero Deaths vision. However, taking action is vital. We dont want people to just say theyre supporters of TZD without taking action to make progress toward zero deaths.While you work on adopting the National Strategy, were working to create opportunities for knowledge sharing, networking and partnership.

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www.TowardZeroDeaths.org

We invite you to start by visiting the TZD website where you can download the National Strategy document. 30

www.TowardZeroDeaths.org

Joining the TZD effort is simple. On the website, you sign up as a champion who will support Toward Zero Deaths and safety culture in your organization. 31

By signing up youll have access to the TZD logo and other support materials. Youre invited to use the materials immediately. Guidelines for usage are outlined next to the signup form. 32

In closing, Ill share a video that demonstrates the collective power we have to reverse the trend of fatalities back to zero.

[Play PSA]Zero is NOT an impossible goal. But it will take all of us to get there. The sum of all of our efforts is zero.