Vision Zero (New York City)

Vision Zero is a program created by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2014. Its purpose is to eliminate all traffic deaths and serious injuries on New York City streets by 2024.^[1] On January 15, 2014, Mayor de Blasio announced the launch of Vision Zero in New York City, based on a similar program of the same name that was implemented in Sweden. The original Swedish theory hypothesizes that pedestrian deaths are not as much "accidents" as they are a failure of street design.^[2] Traffic-related injuries and crashes in New York City increased from 2014 through 2018, though traffic-related deaths decreased.^[3]

Context

In 1990 there were 701 traffic fatalities in New York City.^[4] In 2013 there were 286 traffic fatalities.^[5] 2014 saw the fewest pedestrian fatalities since 1910,^[6] with 132 deaths.^[7] However, traffic injuries and traffic crashes in New York City under de Blasio's mayoralty have been increasing.^[3]

There have been both a greater number of crashes since the program began, according to New York City Police Department data.^[3] Collisions on New York City streets increased over 11% between 2014 and 2018.^[3] In 2014, there were 205,486 such collisions; that number rose to 228,227 in 2018.^[3] There has also been a steadily rising injury toll, according to New York City Police Department data.^[3] Between 2014 and 2018, collisions resulting in injuries increased by 18% (from 37,556 in 2014, to 44,508 in 2018).^[3]

In 2016, there were 10,775 pedestrian injuries, 148 pedestrian deaths, 4,592 bicyclist injuries, and 18 bicyclist deaths citywide due to motor vehicle drivers.^[8] However, in July 2019, de Blasio came under criticism after fifteen cyclists died since the beginning of the year, more than the number of cyclists killed in all of 2018.^[9]

Program

Implementation

The plan includes criminal charges against traffic violators, speed limit reduction from 30 to 25 miles per hour (48 to 40 km/h), slow zones, increased enforcement, increase use of speed cameras, quicker repairing broken traffic signals, and strict enforcement on taxi drivers.^[5] It also includes adding leading pedestrian interval signals, which allow pedestrians to start crossing before parallel vehicular traffic has a green light, to 800 signalized intersections per year. In addition, over 7,500 of the city's 13,000 signalized intersections received pedestrian countdown timers that count down the seconds remaining for pedestrians to cross.^[10] New Vision Zero laws made it a crime, punishable by imprisonment, if a driver does not yield to a pedestrian and causes death or injury.^[2] Any government official on duty is exempt from this law and is not charged with a crime.^[7]

Results

There was a reduction in traffic fatalities in the year 2014, but the reaction was mixed.^[11] Transit union officials say that bus drivers are persecuted through this law, and that they should be treated like government officials and not be charged criminally. Opponents say that bus drivers killed at least 9 of the 132 pedestrians in 2014 and that they should therefore be investigated like anyone else.^[7]

Traffic injuries and traffic crashes in New York City under Mayor de Blasio have been increasing, though deaths have decreased.^[3] In 2019 there has been criticism of de Blasio's initiative stemming from an increase in bicyclist fatalities from collisions with motor vehicles to fifteen as of July 2019, as compared to ten in all of 2018.^[12] A 2024 study in the American Journal of Public Health found that, as a result of Vision Zero, Medicaid expenses related to traffic injuries in New York City had decreased from $762 million in 2014 to $671 million in 2018.^[13]

Total fatalities	Pedestrian fatalities
Source: Year Three Report^[14]

See also

• Transportation safety in the United States

References

1. Miller, Stephen (January 15, 2014). "De Blasio Rolls Out a Multi-Agency Approach to Reducing Traffic Violence". StreetsBlog NYC.
2. Lisa, Belkin (January 14, 2015). "'Vision Zero,' one year on: NYC's quest to reduce preventable traffic deaths". Yahoo News. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
3. Furfaro, Danielle; Moore, Tina (January 2, 2019). "NYC traffic injuries are up despite drop in fatalities". New York Post.
4. "Vision Zero Homepage". NYC.gov. City of New York. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
5. Lemire, Jonathan (May 29, 2014). "NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL PASSES VISION ZERO LEGISLATION". 7 News. Associated Press. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
6. Donohue, Pete (December 30, 2014). "EXCLUSIVE: Pedestrian traffic deaths hit record low in New York City". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
7. Fitzsimmons, Emma G. (February 19, 2015). "Mayor de Blasio's Traffic Law Vilifies Bus Drivers, Union Says". The New York Times. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
8. "Bicycle Crash Data Report 2016" (PDF). nyc.gov. New York City Department of Transportation. 2016. p. 3. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
9. Reich, Garret (July 10, 2019). "Vox-Pop: Cyclists Speak Out Amid Uptick in Traffic Fatalities". The Indypendent. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
10. Hu, Winnie (November 24, 2017). "Giving Pedestrians a Head Start Crossing Streets". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
11. Hicks, Nolan; Nolan, Caitlin; Paddock, Paddock (May 26, 2015). "EXCLUSIVE: Daily News probe finds mixed results for Bill de Blasio's Vision Zero plan". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
12. Gaffney, Emma (July 11, 2019). "With Die-in, NYC Cyclists Say It's Time To Put The Brakes On Car Culture". The Indypendent. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
13. Dragan, Kacie L.; Glied, Sherry A. (June 2024). "Major Traffic Safety Reform and Road Traffic Injuries Among Low-Income New York Residents, 2009–2021". American Journal of Public Health. 114 (6): 633–641. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2024.307617. ISSN 0090-0036.
14. "YEAR THREE REPORT" (PDF). nyc.gov. New York City Department of Transportation. February 2017. p. 12. Retrieved November 4, 2017.