Publication Details

Editorial: Vision zero: The safe system approach and traffic safety culture

Type: article

Author(s): Ward, Nicholas John; Kumfer, Wes; Baldwin, Shelly

Url: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffutr.2023.1233766/full

Publication Date: Jun-2023

Journal: Frontiers in Future Transportation

Volume: 4

Issn: 2673-5210

Doi: 10.3389/ffutr.2023.1233766

Abstract: According to the World Health Organization, in 2018, traffic crashes killed over 1.35 million people (WHO, 2018). While some nations have seen declining trends in traffic fatalities post-COVID-19, for many nations, especially the United States, traffic fatalities continue to grow at an alarming rate. This rise is especially problematic for the most vulnerable, as pedestrians and bicyclists continue to be killed at disproportionate rates in many countries (ITF, 2022). Thus, for much of the world, a new traffic safety management paradigm is needed. An examination of traffic fatality trends (ITF, 2022) reveals that many of the nations that have exhibited downward trends in traffic safety are those that have adopted the Safe System Approach. The Safe System Approach is a human-centered paradigm of traffic safety that rejects traffic fatalities and injuries as systemic failures and seeks to proactively leverage overlapping protections from the roadway environment, technology, enforcement efforts, and cultural elements to keep road users safe. Despite its relative novelty in traffic safety management practice in the United States (U.S. DOT, 2022) and some other countries, research indicates that those nations that have long abided by Safe System principles (e.g., Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, and more) are those with much safer roadways (Dumbaugh et al., 2019). However, implementing a Safe System Approach and truly producing a transportation system in which no persons will suffer death or injury requires cultural shifts and careful recognition of the unique policy environments in which traffic safety stakeholders must operate. This Frontiers in Future Transportation Research Topic, Vision Zero: The safe system approach and traffic safety culture collects a variety of articles spanning research into culture and practice and presenting case studies on aligning local goals with Vision Zero. The collected works provide a unique lens into making major shifts in how transportation safety practice and the steps needed to produce this readiness.