No loss of life by traffic crash is acceptable and we can prevent people from dying on our road- ways. Everyone deserves safe, acces- sible streets and sidewalks.

No matter how you move around Houston, whether you drive, walk, use a wheelchair, bike, scoot, skate, or ride transit, we all contribute to safe streets. By acknowledging our role, we can help to prevent traffic deaths and serious injuries.

Join us in pledging to commit to streets that are safe and accessible, shared by everyone with appropriate driving speeds, no distractions, and no impairment.

Among the 12 largest metro areas in the U.S., Houston has the high- est record for roadway fatalities in terms of deaths per capita from 2001 through 2016.

Data from the Texas Depart- ment of Transportation over a five-year period from 2014 – 2018 indicates 1,097 fatal traffic crashes and 5,556 serious injury crashes in Houston. On average, that is 219 people per year whose lives are lost and 1,111 people per year who lives are incapacitated by traffic crashes occurring on Houston roadways.

The City of Houston (“City”) recognizes traffic deaths as an unaccept- able and preventable public health issue. In its role to equitably support the com- mon good and the Plan Houston Vision Statement: “Houston promotes healthy and resilient communities through smart civic investments, dynamic partnerships, education, and innovation”, the City of Houston will adopt Vision Zero with a goal to end traffic deaths and serious injuries among all road users.

Core Elements

Vision Zero – the strategy to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries – is being adopted by a growing number of communities across North America and beyond. While safe mo- bility is not a new concept, Vision Zero requires a shift in how communities ap- proach decisions, actions, and attitudes around safe mobility.

A fundamental part of this shift is moving from a traditional approach to a Safe Systems approach toward traffic safety. A traditional approach accepts that a certain number of traffic deaths and severe injuries will occur as un- avoidable consequences of mobility and focuses on changing individual behavior to reduce the frequency of these incidents. In contrast, Vision Zero is built on the basis that traffic deaths and severe injuries are prevent- able. Vision Zero emphasizes a Safe Systems approach, which acknowl- edges that people make mistakes, and focuses on influencing system-wide practices, policies, and designs to lessen the severity of crashes.

For more Information, go to: www.houstontx.gov/visionzero