"Rising Traffic Fatalities: Billions Invested in Street Safety Fail to Save Lives"

The goal of Vision Zero is to reduce fatalities to zero by designing roads and altering driver behavior to slow traffic speeds and limit conflicts between cars and pedestrians. The program was first introduced in Sweden in 1997, where it led to a 67% drop in traffic-related deaths, according to research conducted at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health. After Spain adopted Vision Zero, the traffic fatality rate in that country dropped by 80%.

 A CBS News analysis suggests Vision Zero policies have been less successful in the U.S.

CBS News analyzed data on every U.S. traffic-related death from 2016 to 2021 and found little to no difference in the number of deaths in most cities that adopted Vision Zero. In a few cities, including Durham, N.C., Richmond VA and San Francisco, traffic fatalities decreased after Vision Zero was implemented. But deaths  actually increased in 22 of the 27 cities with Vision Zero programs in place by 2019.

"Talking," not "doing"

Reduction in the number of crashes and fatalities in the immediate areas or street segments where Vision Zero projects have been completed is well documented. But critics say there aren't enough finished projects in enough cities to make a significant change to overall fatality rates.

"There's a lot of people dying each year and so that's deeply concerning," said Beth Osborne, a former acting assistant secretary at U.S. DOT.  "We spend about $50 billion a year on our roadway system and we have separated out spending on those safety considerations as a specialized small part of that funding, which shows you that that is not a priority."

Concerns Raised Over Emphasis on Speed and Efficiency Over Safety in U.S. DOT Projects

Highlighting a concerning trend, it has been pointed out that the majority of projects funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) have been geared towards enhancing the speed and efficiency of America's roads, rather than prioritizing safety.

Expressing her views on this issue, Osborne emphasized the need for a shift in focus, stating, "I would argue so long as you can easily pick out the safety projects, that's a problem. They should all be safety projects."

Osborne, who currently holds the position of vice president for transportation and thriving communities at Smart Growth America, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., lamented the lack of substantial action in transforming U.S. roads and highways despite rhetoric from policymakers.

Reflecting on the situation, Osborne drew on her upbringing in the South, remarking, "I grew up in the South where we would say we were always 'fixing' to do good things. But when you're 'fixing' to, you're not actually doing anything."

A recent investigation by CBS News revealed that out of 1,132 Safe Streets projects launched nationwide over the past two years, only 7.5% were categorized as "implementation" projects involving tangible safety modifications to roads, highways, or intersections. The remaining 92.5% fell under activities like "planning" and "demonstration," lacking permanent and comprehensive physical changes.

Despite 70.4% of the funding being allocated to the limited "implementation" projects, the analysis by CBS News indicated that cities where these projects were executed did not observe significant improvements in their overall traffic fatality rates.

Osborne believes the projects simply aren't being implemented on a large enough scale.

"Vision Zero is an approach to your entire transportation system that says the faster things go, the more you want to reduce the places where you'll find typical mistakes," she said. "We want to design for human behavior and we just simply haven't implemented that."

"We are in a state of crisis"

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CBS News the results of traffic safety programs in this country have not been as strong as he would like. He said he expects projects scheduled to be implemented in the summer of 2024 may help reverse the fatal crash trend.

"We are in a state of crisis, and it does not get nearly enough attention," said Buttigieg. "I don't just care about this as a policymaker, I care about it as a pedestrian. I care about it as a parent."

To emphasize the human cost, he compared the number of lives lost on U.S. highways to a full commercial 737 airplane crashing every single day.

"The fact that every one of us can name people we know and care about who have been lost in a car crash tells you everything you need to know about how urgent this issue is," expressed Buttigieg.

He emphasized that he will only settle for a goal of zero roadway deaths — Vision Zero's stated mission.

"Americans are used to just thinking of [traffic deaths] as 'a cost of doing business,' or something that can't be avoided," Buttigieg pointed out. "But I don't see how we can accept that, especially because if you look at our peer countries, they're getting much better results. That tells us that we can and must do better."

Automated cameras as part of a solution

As the number of traffic deaths rise, some cities, including Philadelphia, Chicago and Washington, D.C., have recently recommitted to Vision Zero. In Washington, D.C., a key tool in achieving traffic safety goals is the use of automated traffic enforcement cameras. In recent years, the District has deployed nearly 500 cameras, which issue citations for violations including speeding, running stop signs and red lights, and blocking bus lanes.

"We really hope that the cameras will, will hit people where it hurts in their wallet, and then they'll stop doing the behavior," shared Sharon Kershbaum, interim director of the District Department of Transportation.