Vision Zero
Encyclopedia
Vision Zero is a road traffic safety project started in Sweden in 1997 which aims to achieve a highway
system with no fatalities or serious injuries in road traffic. A core principle of the vision is that 'Life and health can never be exchanged for other benefits within the society' rather than the more conventional approach where an monetary value is placed on life and health which is then used with a Benefit-cost ratio
evaluation before investing money in the road network to decrease risk.
"Roads with no possibility of a side impact or frontal impact" are sometimes designated as Type 1 ( motorways/freeways/Autobahns ), Type 2 ("2+2 road
s") or Type 3 ("2+1 road
s"). These roadways have crash barriers
separating opposing traffic, limited access, grade separation
and prohibitions on slower and more vulnerable road users. Undivided rural roads can be quite dangerous even with speed limits that appear low by comparison. For example, in 2008, Germany's 100 km/h (62 mph)-limited rural roads had a fatality rate of 9.5 deaths per billion travel-km, over four times higher than the autobahn rate of 2.2 deaths. Autobahns accounted for 33% of German road travel in 2008, but just 11% (495 of 4,477) of traffic deaths.
More recently the Dutch have introduced the idea that roads should also be "forgiving", i.e. designed to lessen the outcome of an traffic collision when the inevitable does occur, principles which are at the core of both the Dutch and Swedish policies.
which was first published in 1998 and updated in 2007. In 2006 the Stockholm Environment Institute wrote a report at the request of the UK Department for Transport
titled 'Vision zero: Adopting a Target of Zero for Road Traffic Fatalities and Serious Injuries'. In 2008 the Road Safety Foundation published a report proposing on UK road safety which referenced Vision Zero. The Campaign for Safe Road Design
is a partnership between 13 UK major road safety stakeholders that is calling for the UK Government to invest in a safe road infrastructure which in their view could cut deaths on British roads by 33%.
, the European Road Assessment Programme is bringing together a partnership of motoring organisations, vehicle manufacturers and road authorities to develop protocols for identifying and communicating road accident risk and to develop tools and best practice guidelines for engineering safer roads. EuroRAP aims to support governments in meeting their Vision Zero targets.
Sweden, which initiated Vision Zero, had somewhat better results. Sweden has a long tradition in setting quantitative
road traffic safety targets. In the mid 1990s a 10-year target was set at a 50% reduction for 2007. This target was not met; the actual ten year reduction was 13% to 471 deaths. The target was revised to 50% by 2020 and to 0 deaths by 2050. In 2009 the reduction from 1997 totals was 34.5% to 355 deaths.
Highway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
system with no fatalities or serious injuries in road traffic. A core principle of the vision is that 'Life and health can never be exchanged for other benefits within the society' rather than the more conventional approach where an monetary value is placed on life and health which is then used with a Benefit-cost ratio
Benefit-cost ratio
A benefit-cost ratio is an indicator, used in the formal discipline of cost-benefit analysis, that attempts to summarize the overall value for money of a project or proposal. A BCR is the ratio of the benefits of a project or proposal, expressed in monetary terms, relative to its costs, also...
evaluation before investing money in the road network to decrease risk.
Principles
Vision Zero is based on four principles:- Ethics: Human life and health are paramount and take priority over mobility and other objectives of the road traffic system
- Responsibility: providers and regulators of the road traffic system share responsibility with users;
- Safety: road traffic systems should take account of human fallibility and minimize both the opportunities for errors and the harm done when they occur; and
- Mechanisms for change: providers and regulators must do their utmost to guarantee the safety of all citizens; they must cooperate with road users; and all three must be ready to change to achieve safety.
Speed Limits
Vision Zero suggests the following "possible long term maximum travel speeds related to the infrastructure, given best practice in vehicle design and 100% restraint use". These speeds are based on human and automobile limits. For example, the human tolerance for a pedestrian hit by a well-designed car is approximately 30 km/h. If a higher speed in urban areas is desired, the option is to separate pedestrian crossings from the traffic. If not, pedestrian crossings, or zones (or vehicles), must be designed to generate speeds of a maximum of 30 km/h. Similarly, the inherent safety of well-designed cars can be anticipated to be a maximum of 70 km/h in frontal impacts, and 50 km/h in side impacts. Speeds over 100 km/h can be tolerated if the infrastructure is designed to prevent frontal and side impacts.| Type of infrastructure and traffic | Possible travel speed (km/h) |
|---|---|
| Locations with possible conflicts between pedestrians and cars | 30 km/h (19 mph) |
| Intersections with possible side impacts between cars | 50 km/h (31 mph) |
| Roads with possible frontal impacts between cars, including rural roads | 70 km/h (43 mph) |
| Roads with no possibility of a side impact or frontal impact (only impact with the infrastructure) | 100 km/h (62 mph)+ |
"Roads with no possibility of a side impact or frontal impact" are sometimes designated as Type 1 ( motorways/freeways/Autobahns ), Type 2 ("2+2 road
2+2 road
A 2+2 road is a specific type of dual-carriageway being built in Ireland and Sweden, consisting of two lanes in each direction separated with a steel cable barrier. They do not have hard shoulders. Junctions are at-grade roundabouts and minor roads cross under or over the mainline without...
s") or Type 3 ("2+1 road
2+1 road
2+1 road is a specific category of three-lane road, consisting of two lanes in one direction and one lane in the other, alternating every few kilometres, and separated usually with a steel cable barrier. Traditional roads of at least width can be converted to 2+1 roads and reach near-motorway...
s"). These roadways have crash barriers
Traffic barrier
Traffic barriers keep vehicles within their roadway and prevent vehicles from colliding with dangerous obstacles. Traffic barriers installed at the road side also prevent errant vehicles from traversing steep slopes. Traffic barriers installed at the medians of divided highways are also referred...
separating opposing traffic, limited access, grade separation
Grade separation
Grade separation is the method of aligning a junction of two or more transport axes at different heights so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other transit routes when they cross each other. The composition of such transport axes does not have to be uniform; it can consist of a...
and prohibitions on slower and more vulnerable road users. Undivided rural roads can be quite dangerous even with speed limits that appear low by comparison. For example, in 2008, Germany's 100 km/h (62 mph)-limited rural roads had a fatality rate of 9.5 deaths per billion travel-km, over four times higher than the autobahn rate of 2.2 deaths. Autobahns accounted for 33% of German road travel in 2008, but just 11% (495 of 4,477) of traffic deaths.
Netherlands
In Holland, the sustainable safety approach differs from Vision Zero in that it acknowledges that in the majority of accidents humans are to blame, and that roads should be designed to be "self-explaining" thus reducing the likelihood of crashes. Self-explaining roads are easy to use and navigate, it being self-evident to road users where they should be and how they should behave.More recently the Dutch have introduced the idea that roads should also be "forgiving", i.e. designed to lessen the outcome of an traffic collision when the inevitable does occur, principles which are at the core of both the Dutch and Swedish policies.
Sweden
In 1997 the Swedish Parliament introduced a “Vision Zero” policy that requires that fatalities and serious injurious are reduced to zero by 2020. This is a significant step change in transport policy at the European level and may soon be followed by Switzerland. All new roads are built to this standard and older roads are modified.United Kingdom
Transport appraisal in the United Kingdom is based on New Approach to AppraisalNew Approach to Appraisal
The New Approach to Appraisal was the name given to a multi-criteria decision framework used to appraise transport projects and proposals in the United Kingdom...
which was first published in 1998 and updated in 2007. In 2006 the Stockholm Environment Institute wrote a report at the request of the UK Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
titled 'Vision zero: Adopting a Target of Zero for Road Traffic Fatalities and Serious Injuries'. In 2008 the Road Safety Foundation published a report proposing on UK road safety which referenced Vision Zero. The Campaign for Safe Road Design
Campaign for Safe Road Design
The Campaign for Safe Road Design is a partnership between 13 UK major road safety stakeholders that is calling for the UK Government to invest in a safe road infrastructure which in their view could cut deaths on British roads by 33%.-Aims:...
is a partnership between 13 UK major road safety stakeholders that is calling for the UK Government to invest in a safe road infrastructure which in their view could cut deaths on British roads by 33%.
Other safety initiatives
Across Europe EuroRAPEuroRAP
European Road Assessment Programme is a non-profit road safety organisation which aims to reduce death and serious injury on Europe's roads...
, the European Road Assessment Programme is bringing together a partnership of motoring organisations, vehicle manufacturers and road authorities to develop protocols for identifying and communicating road accident risk and to develop tools and best practice guidelines for engineering safer roads. EuroRAP aims to support governments in meeting their Vision Zero targets.
Outcomes
Ten years after initiation of Vision Zero, results have been unimpressive in Norway. "The zero vision has drawn more attention to road safety, but it has not yielded any significant short-term gains so far," a staff engineer at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration said.Sweden, which initiated Vision Zero, had somewhat better results. Sweden has a long tradition in setting quantitative
road traffic safety targets. In the mid 1990s a 10-year target was set at a 50% reduction for 2007. This target was not met; the actual ten year reduction was 13% to 471 deaths. The target was revised to 50% by 2020 and to 0 deaths by 2050. In 2009 the reduction from 1997 totals was 34.5% to 355 deaths.
| Accident Year | Fatalities |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 541 |
| 1998 | 531 |
| 1999 | 580 |
| 2000 | 591 |
| 2001 | 583 |
| 2002 | 532 |
| 2003 | 529 |
| 2004 | 480 |
| 2005 | 440 |
| 2006 | 445 |
| 2007 | 471 |
| 2008 | 396 |
| 2009 | 355 |