What is Vision Zero?

Vision Zero is a safety initiative aimed at eliminating all traffic fatalities and severe injuries that occur during everyday transportation. Traffic deaths and severe injuries have often been considered inevitable, and while mistakes made by human users are unavoidable, the resulting cost should never be death or serious injury.

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Vision Zero moves away from the traditional approach to traffic safety with the belief that traffic deaths are preventable, that human failings should be integrated in the approach to prevent fatal and severe crashes. This collaboration among local traffic planners and engineers, policymakers, and public health professionals analyzes all the factors contributing to safe mobility including roadway design, speeds, behaviors, technology, and policies.

Why do we need it?

Each week in Polk County, traffic crashes claim an estimated two lives and leave seven people with serious injuries. Every day, roughly 31 crashes result in an estimated seven million dollars in property damage. As Polk County continues to grow and welcome new families, expanding safety initiatives is essential to protecting residents and ensuring a thriving and safe community.

How are we moving towards Zero?

Polk TPO has been expanding safety efforts for decades, winning 12 regional awards for safety between 2001 and 2016. Various studies and action plans have been conducted and developed to increase safety on roadways identified by Polk County as having the highest crash rates of pedestrian and cyclist activity. The Vision Zero Conditions Assessment Study, that was published in August 2023, analyzed existing conditions and created a high-injury network that identified the top 20 high-injury corridors and intersections in Polk County.

The Vision Zero Action Plan, launched in 2025, builds on existing safety efforts by analyzing current conditions and key risk factors. The plan incorporates community input through surveys, group meetings, and other outreach initiatives. It will identify the 20 most hazardous corridors and intersections in Polk County, explore emerging technologies and strategies to enhance safety and equity, and propose and test potential countermeasures to reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries.

Achieving zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries requires a commitment to the Safe System approach, as outlined in the image below. Safety on our roads is a shared responsibility in which everyone plays a role in creating a safer transportation system.