Vision Zero is a slogan, not a safety policy

Randal O'Toole

Letter to the editor in the NY Times:

To the Editor:

Re “Pedestrian Deaths Hit Highs as Reckless Driving Surges” (news article, Feb. 15):

While pandemic-induced “social disengagement” may contribute to the soaring death rate on America’s roadways in the past two years, the reality is that long before Covid-19 government and industry leaders disengaged from their moral responsibilities to ensure safety on our roads, sidewalks and bikeways.

The U.S. ranks 46th worst of 52 high-income nations in traffic deaths, according to the World Health Organization. This is not because drivers in America are inherently worse drivers. Rather, we design roads that prioritize speed over safety, supersize cars and set speed limits at dangerous levels. We are experiencing the deadly results we designed for.

Some leaders recognize that we can make change. More than 40 U.S. cities have committed to Vision Zero: safe mobility for all. 

A few weeks ago, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg set the national goal of zero roadway deaths, declaring, “We cannot and must not accept that these fatalities are somehow an inevitable part of life in America.”

We created today’s deadly transportation system. We can change it, too. We need leaders across the nation to re-engage and prioritize safety.

Leah Shahum

Oakland, Calif.

The writer is the founder and director of the Vision Zero Network.

Rob's comment:

You exaggerate how "deadly" the US transportation system is. The graph above tells a different story. Vision Zero is a slogan, not a safety policy. Some fatalities are in fact inevitable in a big country with a lot of traffic.