Vision Zero Toolkit 

Between 2019 and 2023, Central Indiana experienced 18,615 incapacitating crashes and 1,028 fatal crashes. These are often called “accidents,” but traffic crash deaths are preventable. Vision Zero views traffic fatalities as an urgent public health crisis and employs strategies to eliminate serious injuries and deaths from crashes, not necessarily eliminate all crashes.

Vision Zero recognizes that road and vehicle design influences driver behavior. Even the most experienced drivers can make mistakes. To save lives, roads and vehicles must be designed to reduce risks, accommodate inevitable human error, and promote safe speeds through self-explaining and self-enforcing road design.

The Indianapolis MPO developed the Vision Zero Toolkit to educate Central Indiana residents and offer practical strategies for safer transportation across all modes—whether driving, walking, cycling, or using mobility devices—and in all settings, from urban to rural. Vision Zero programs take an "all of the above" approach to addressing traffic crashes from enforcement to vehicle design. This toolkit focuses on urban planning, policy, and engineering interventions that can be implemented at the local level and contribute to a larger program. It also builds on existing regional successes, like suburban roundabouts and redesigned urban streets, to create safer, more effective transportation systems.

What's In the Toolkit

  • Data Collection and Benchmarks: Organizing, collecting, and evaluating data to inform solutions and ongoing effectiveness is a key component of Vision Zero results. This section includes best practices for collecting and accessing data, interpreting, and effectively using that data.
  • Planning and Policy Strategies: To be effective, leadership must adopt and execute concrete policy changes. This section focuses on the legislative, educational, policy, and enforcement strategies a community can deploy as part of their commitment to Vision Zero.
  • Design Strategies: Roadway design is a critical piece of Vision Zero, and builds long-term solutions for all users. This section identifies several design-based solutions for communities of all sizes and needs.
  • Resources: Case studies and external sources for more specific information on Vision Zero action plans from across the country are included in this section.
  • Communications: Committing to Vision Zero is worth celebrating and sharing widely. It will also require communication within the impacted communities and with decision makers, leadership, and interested parties. This section shares tools, templates, techniques, message creation, and branding materials needed to help educate decision makers and the broader public.

Toolkit Resources

In addition to the Toolkit itself, the IMPO has compiled resources for local agencies to understand and implement Vision Zero. These resources include logo and design resources, photos and infographics, communication strategies, and fact sheets. These resources and the full toolkit document will be available for download via our Google Drive. Looking for additional resources, data, or planning tools? Contact us at info@indympo.org. 

Crashes Not "Accidents"

Even subtle editorial choices surrounding traffic crash reporting have major impacts on a reader’s understanding of the crash including if the reader sympathizes with the victim or blames them and what solutions the reader wants to see. The risk of a deadly crash is largely determined by speed and speed is largely determined by road design. If we accept the premise of Vision Zero, we cannot accept the status quo that refers to deadly traffic crashes as isolated “accidents” because road design is a policy choice and crash deaths are systemic. By acknowledging the preventable nature of traffic crashes, communications professionals can frame the crisis as solvable and encourage solutions.

Resources

Crash Coverage for Vulnerable People

The research paper Does news coverage of traffic crashes affect perceived blame and preferred solutions? from Texas A&M University offers an analysis of the effects of news coverage and best practices. The study showed that communications professionals can significantly reduce victim blaming of traffic crash victims through careful framing and sentence structure. The study also showed that thematic framing with a focus on the ongoing crisis (i.e. by mentioning the number of people who have died in traffic accidents) significantly increased support for infrastructure improvements that would reduce crashes.

Status Quo Better Practice Effect of status quo
Accident: “Pedestrian killed in accident on Main Street.” Crash: “Pedestrian killed in crash on Main Street.” Obscures preventable nature of crashes
Non-agentive: “A pedestrian was hit and killed.” (no agent) Agentive: “A pedestrian was hit and killed by a car.” Obscures role of a human actor
Focus on pedestrian: “A pedestrian was hit and killed by a car.” Focus on vehicle: “A car hit and killed a pedestrian.” Increases blame for the focus of the sentence
Object-based language: “A car jumped the curb.” Person-based language: “A driver drove over the curb.” Obscures role of a human actor
Counterfactual statements: “The pedestrian darted into the street.” Not included Increases perceived blame for the victim
Episodic framing: Treats the crash as an isolated incident. Thematic framing: “This is the tenth fatal collision this year.” Prevents readers from connecting the dots between incidents and thus shifts attention to individual rather than systematic solutions

Source: Goddard, Tara, et al. “Does news coverage of traffic crashes affect perceived blame and preferred solutions? evidence from an experiment.” Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, vol. 3, 2019, p. 100073, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip....

Other IMPO Safety Initiatives

The IMPO strives to support safety across its core programs and works to create a regional transportation system designed to safely and comfortably accommodate all users, of all ages and abilities. To learn more about the IMPO's infrastructure funding programs, local technical assistance planning programs, crash dashboard, Safe Streets for All plan, road safety audits, and other IMPO initiatives please start at our Safety and the IMPO landing page. 

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