Serious car accidents happen every day in New York. Last year, around 42,000 people were killed in car accidents across the country, which was a 24% increase from the year before. This statistic was even more disturbing knowing that vehicle miles driven last year decreased by 13% due to lockdowns.
Vision Zero
Many cities across the country have adopted a safety initiative known as Vision Zero. Vision Zero is an effort to reduce traffic fatalities to zero. Although this vision may seem impossible, striving to reach it could potentially save a lot of lives and reduce personal injury claims. Some of the most common Vision Zero strategies include:
- Lowering speed limits
- Installing speed bumps
- Building roundabouts
- Increasing lighting
- Improving pedestrian crossings
Using analytics for traffic safety
Improvements in infrastructure are often cost-prohibitive for a lot of communities. That’s why it’s important to identify the biggest problem areas in a city so that improving these areas can be prioritized. Traffic camera footage, police reports and resident surveys can be analyzed to find patterns in car accidents and pedestrian fatalities.
There are some areas with more pedestrian fatalities than others due to lack of crosswalks or lighting. Other areas have too much traffic, and new roadways could be used to divert some of the cars. If speeding is a problem in one area, an increase in signage and speed enforcement may be needed.
Analytics can demonstrate effectiveness of safety measures
When cities use analytics to identify potential safety measures that should be taken, they can always go back and reassess the expenditures. Analyzing the roadways before and after improvements were made can provide further insight into what safety measures work best.