Roadway deaths, particularly those involving non-motorists, have been increasing sharply across the United States. In 2020, 38,680 people died on U.S roadways according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and experienced an 18 percent increase in the first 6 months (more than 20,000) of 2021.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg last month unveiled the new National Roadway Safety Strategy, with the lofty goal of reducing roadway deaths to zero by the end of the century. Perhaps lofty, Secretary Buttigieg notes that cities both the U.S. and internationally have been able to reach that goal in a very short period of time – pointing to Hoboken, New Jersey as an example.

Hoboken, a city of 60,000 near New York City, adopted a “Vision Zero” plan that uses data to determine roadway dangers to vulnerable populations utilizing strategies such as reducing speeds and designing infrastructure that protects pedestrians and cyclists. Utilizing the policy, the city has experienced a three-year stretch of no pedestrian fatalities in the city.

Internationally, Oslo, Norway – a cities more than 10 times larger by population than Hoboken – also had no pedestrian deaths in 2019 according to the European Transport Safety Council. Like Hoboken, Oslo has invested in new infrastructure like speed bumps, but also increased traffic enforcement and the establishment of safety zones around schools, as part of their strategy to reduce or eliminate pedestrian deaths.

The new strategy comes on the heels of new spending for roadway infrastructure as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the five-year spending plan that includes $500 billion in new spending. IIJA includes $6 billion in funding for safety programs, including the Highway Safety Improvement Program, and the new Safe Streets for All program. While this pales in comparison to the $150 billion in spending allocated for road and bridge infrastructure, it is a significant investment and, coupled with new strategies the department will implement over three years in five categories, could lead to significant changes in roadway safety:

• Safer People: Encourage safe, responsible behavior by people who use roads and create conditions that prioritize their ability to reach their destination unharmed.

• Safer Roads: Design roadway environments to mitigate human mistakes and account for injury tolerances, to encourage safer behaviors, and to facilitate safe travel by the most vulnerable users.

• Safer Vehicles: Expand the availability of vehicle systems and features that help to prevent crashes and minimize the impact of crashes on both occupants and non-occupants.

• Safer Speeds: Promote safer speeds in all roadway environments through a combination of thoughtful, context-appropriate roadway design, targeted education and outreach campaigns, and enforcement.

• Post-Crash Care: Enhance the survivability of crashes through expedient access to emergency medical care, while creating a safe working environment for vital first responders and preventing secondary crashes through robust traffic incident management practices.

The new policy will be important for Ohio, which reversed a four year trend last year, experiencing an increase in the number of pedestrian-related crashes last year, while at the same time continuing the trend of an increase in the number of fatal accidents (up for the second year in a row following a three-year decline).