The target for traffic fatalities should be zero, advocates say
Advocates are calling for Canadian cities to implement the Vision Zero approach to road safety, maintaining that more can be done to reduce traffic injuries.
Pioneered by Sweden, the Vision Zero approach has the explicit goal of reducing traffic fatalities to zero. The method focuses on smart transit design as a strategy to mediate human error.
According to the World Health Organization, Sweden now has some of the safest roads in the world, with only three deaths per 100,000 drivers. In Canada, that number is 5.2, according to Transport Canada.
One of Canada's busiest cities, Toronto, has never had an overall road-safety strategy, and deaths have been on the rise. Last year, 64 people died in traffic accidents across the city. Most of those fatalities were pedestrians.
[For] kids under 14, transport-related injuries account for about 50 per cent of deaths.- Pamela Fuselli, on national mortality trends
The Current explores the effectiveness of implementing traffic-safety policies like Vision Zero, and compares Canada's road safety to the rest of the world.
- Meghan Sherwin, co-founder of the "Slow Down, Kids At Play" campaign
- Matts Belin, project manager at the Vision Zero Academy
- Pamela Fuselli, vice-president for knowledge transfer and stakeholder relations with Parachute Canada
How safe do you feel walking or driving in your neighbourhood?
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This segment was produced by The Current's Julian Uzielli