Madison is committed to eliminating serious injuries and fatalities due to traffic accidents.
In 1975, Oslo, Norway had 41 fatalities due to traffic accidents. Forty-four years later, the city lost zero pedestrians and cyclists and had only one total fatality due to traffic accidents. How did Oslo fall from 41 deaths to one? The answer lies in a philosophy and approach to traffic engineering known internationally as Vision Zero, as reported by Jessica Coulon in Bicycling. In 2020, the City of Madison committed to eliminating serious injuries and fatalities due to traffic accidents by 2035 by instating the Final Action Plan for Vision Zero.
One of the first steps the City of Madison took was working with the UW-Madison Traffic Operations and Safety Laboratory (TOPS) to collect data and map out the most high-risk areas of the city with respect to traffic safety. Boris Claros Rodriguez, a Research Scientist for TOPS, explained that they ranked this data “by type of facility,” and the ones at the top comprised “the high injury network.”
The different facilities correspond to specific intersections, such as stoplight, stop sign, and yield sign, as well as the road type based on lane counts and speed limit. The High Injury Network is a map of the city with high-risk facilities highlighted so that it becomes clear which areas the Vision Zero project should prioritize. This map is the basis of the Madison Vision Zero Project.
Another important component of the Vision Zero Project is re-evaluating road design. As Renee Callaway, Assistant Director of Traffic Engineering, says, it is best to “build your roads so that there is safety redundancy.”
Redundancy involves lowering the speed limit and narrowing the road while making crosswalks more visible with bright paint or flashing lights. People are fallible and will inevitably make mistakes or drive faster than they should, so roads should be designed with human error in mind instead of counting on people to be flawless drivers and pedestrians.
Lowering the speed limit is particularly effective at minimizing the number of vehicles driving at very high speeds; driving even five miles per hour less can save someone’s life in an accident.
“If a pedestrian gets hit by a vehicle going 40 mph, there is a 7 in 10 chance for them to die, whereas if the vehicle is going 20 mph, there is only a 1 in 10 chance for them to die.”
Tom Lynch, Director of Transportation
Narrowing the road also improves safety because it compels people to drive slower, even if the speed limit stays the same. With a narrower road, drivers become more cautious and concerned about running into something, leading them to slow down.
Crosswalk visibility also makes a difference because, as Callaway says, “If you don’t see a cyclist, there is an increased chance of a crash.” Because of this, making cyclists and pedestrians more visible will always help prevent accidents.
Moving forward, when it comes to Vision Zero, Callaway explains that you “have to take a long-term view on a project like this” and “just keep chipping away at the problem.” There will always be accidents that are completely unpreventable, but through the data-driven and strategic traffic engineering behind Vision Zero, Madison will be able to save many lives.