Vision Zero Boston Is Working to Make the City Safer
Vision Zero in Boston is a road safety initiative that aims to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries while enhancing transportation equity and efficiency throughout the city. Vision Zero’s root belief is that no loss of life or serious injury on our city streets is acceptable. The program emphasizes a redesign of streets and intersections to prioritize pedestrian safety, promotes public awareness campaigns to educate road users about safe behaviors, and works with law enforcement to enforce traffic laws effectively.
At Breakstone, White & Gluck, we applaud any effort to make our Boston streets safer for bicyclists and pedestrians, our most vulnerable road users. We have decades of experience helping personal injury victims secure the compensation to which they’re entitled. Here are just a few of our successes in pedestrian and bicycle accident cases:
- $7,100,000 for a pedestrian hit by a bus
- $2,150,000 for a sidewalk car strike that killed a pedestrian
- $3,000,000 for a child cyclist hit by a pickup truck
- $1,800,000 for a bicyclist hit in crosswalk
When did Vision Zero start?
Vision Zero started in Sweden in the 1990s and quickly proved successful across Europe. It’s now being implemented in dozens of cities across the United States.
Vision Zero’s approach differs from traditional approaches to traffic safety:
Traditional Approach
- Traffic deaths are inevitable
- Perfect human behavior
- Prevent collisions
- Individual responsibility
- Saving lives is expensive
Vision Zero Approach
- Traffic deaths are preventable
- Integrate human failing in approach
- Prevent fatal and severe crashes
- Systems approach
- Saving lives is not expensive
The ideas behind Vision Zero
Vision Zero is built on the Safe System approach to traffic safety. Per the Vision Zero Network:
This is a human-centered approach that begins with the ethical belief that no one should be killed or seriously injured in traffic crashes. It recognizes that people (and machines) will inevitably make mistakes. The Safe System approach prioritizes safety for people, focusing on designing roadways and vehicles and setting speeds and related policies in ways that ensure those inevitable mistakes do not result in severe injuries or fatalities.
Vision Zero reports more than 20 fatalities and over 200 serious injuries on our city streets every year. Per the Vision Zero website, Vision Zero Boston “is the Boston Transportation Department's commitment to focus the City’s resources on proven strategies to eliminate fatal and serious traffic crashes in the city by 2030.” They are inspired by the belief that “even one fatality is too many.”
Vision Zero focuses on infrastructure changes that take into account human error and works to prevent fatal and serious accidents. One of the changes is moving the speed limit in Boston to 25mph, which Vision Zero achieved back in 2017. Speed is a critical factor in serious accidents, with Vision Zero Boston reporting the following:
- At 20mph, pedestrians have an 18% likelihood of death or serious injury
- At 30mph, pedestrians have a 50% likelihood of death or serious injury
- At 40mph, pedestrians have a 77% likelihood of death or serious injury
Vision Zero also advocates replacing the word “accident” with “crash,” noting that traffic crashes are preventable and not technically “accidents.”
Bicycle and pedestrian accident statistics in Boston
Per the Vision Zero Boston map, the city has seen a wide variety of accidents in the past year. Since January 2023, Boston had 240 pedestrian crashes with six fatalities. There were also 417 bicycle crashes with one fatality. Finally, there were 2,349 car accidents with three fatalities.
Across Massachusetts, at least 430 people died on Massachusetts roads and highways in 2022. Previously, 2021 was the deadliest year on roadways for over a decade.
Residents are urged to submit the areas they find unsafe or in need of improvement to Vision Zero via this map. You can also see the areas your fellow residents have already submitted.
Most dangerous intersections in Boston
Vision Zero Boston has also put together a map of the most dangerous intersections in the city, which include:
- MASSACHUSETTS AVE @ BEACON ST
- MASSACHUSETTS AVE @ COMMONWEALTH AVE
- COLUMBIA RD @ WASHINGTON ST
- MASSACHUSETTS AVE @ MELNEA CASS BLVD
- MASSACHUSETTS AVE @ NEWBURY ST
- AMERICAN LEGION @ CUMMINS HWY
- AMERICAN LEGION @ WALK HILL ST
- HARVARD ST @ WALK HILL ST
- AMERICAN LEGION @ BLUE HILL AVE
- COLUMBUS AVE @ CEDAR ST B
These intersections had the highest number of injury crashes for the three years studied.
What are some of the tools Vision Zero is implementing?
Vision Zero has a variety of different tools and approaches to traffic safety. Their tools for safer crossings, turns, and speeds include the following and help encourage slower, safer driving:
- Clear corners
- Crossing islands
- Curb extensions
- Hardened centerlines
- High-visibility crosswalks
- Pedestrian warning signs
- Raised crosswalks
- Separated bike lanes
- Slow turn wedges
- T-intersections
- Speed feedback signs
- Speed humps
Towns and cities may use just one or a combination of these safety measures.
Contact Breakstone, White & Gluck in Boston now
Were you or a loved one injured in a bicycle or pedestrian accident? You need a team of skilled and experienced Boston injury lawyers on your side. At Breakstone, White & Gluck, we are here to fight for the compensation you’re owed for your injuries and losses. We will put all our resources to work for you. To schedule a consultation, call our Boston offices or fill out our contact form today.