About this Research Topic
Internationally and within the USA, the number of traffic fatalities and serious injuries is morally unacceptable. In response, many jurisdiction are adopting a vision of zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2050. In the USA, the national Road to Zero coalition identifies three “pillars” to reach zero traffic fatalities (and serious injuries) by 2050: (1) double down on what works through proven, evidence-based strategies; (2) advance life-saving technology in vehicles and infrastructure; and (3) prioritize safety by adopting a Safe Systems approach and creating a positive safety culture. Whereas there is familiarity and understanding of the first two pillars, the concepts of safety systems and safety culture is newer and less clearly understood. This Research Topic would focus on the Safe System approach and creating a positive safety culture to achieve Vision Zero.
The end goal of this Research Topic is to collect and disseminate the most recent scholarship on the Safe System approach to assist the implementation of Vision Zero in the United States. While a focus would be on the emergence of a Vision Zero approach within the USA, this edition will also explore insights from other countries and cities (e.g., Sweden, Netherlands, Australia, Bogota, Addis Ababa, etc.) that have adopted forms of Vision Zero. To broaden our thinking and capture the systemic nature of both the transportation system and its impact on equity, we hope to have contributors from different countries, disciplines, and safety-related domains contribute. Achieving the goal of this special edition will support the scientific basis for adopting the safe system approach and transforming traffic safety culture. The intention is to provide a foundation for practitioners to implement these efforts to reach their vision of zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries in the USA.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Definition, history, and forms of “Vision Zero” and “Safe Systems” across countries (and industries).
- Processes for adopting and implementing the “Safe System” approach.
- Processes for adopting, implementing, and growing a positive “traffic safety culture.”
- Relationship between the “Safe System” approach and “traffic safety culture.”
- Moral and ethical basis of Vision Zero.
The end goal of this Research Topic is to collect and disseminate the most recent scholarship on the Safe System approach to assist the implementation of Vision Zero in the United States. While a focus would be on the emergence of a Vision Zero approach within the USA, this edition will also explore insights from other countries and cities (e.g., Sweden, Netherlands, Australia, Bogota, Addis Ababa, etc.) that have adopted forms of Vision Zero. To broaden our thinking and capture the systemic nature of both the transportation system and its impact on equity, we hope to have contributors from different countries, disciplines, and safety-related domains contribute. Achieving the goal of this special edition will support the scientific basis for adopting the safe system approach and transforming traffic safety culture. The intention is to provide a foundation for practitioners to implement these efforts to reach their vision of zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries in the USA.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Definition, history, and forms of “Vision Zero” and “Safe Systems” across countries (and industries).
- Processes for adopting and implementing the “Safe System” approach.
- Processes for adopting, implementing, and growing a positive “traffic safety culture.”
- Relationship between the “Safe System” approach and “traffic safety culture.”
- Moral and ethical basis of Vision Zero.
Keywords: Traffic Safety, Vision Zero, Safe Systems, Safety Culture
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
