Research Synthesis for the California Zero Traffic Fatalities Task Force

Status

Complete

Project Timeline

July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2020

Principal Investigator

Areas of Expertise

Safety, Public Health, & Mobility Justice

Campus(es)

UC Davis

Project Summary

While California’s transportation system serves to provide mobility, it can be developed under the framework of a safe system with a goal of eliminating severe and fatal injuries. Providing a safe transportation system is both a moral and economic imperative. The road safety toll in 2017 claimed the lives of 3,602 Californians. The corresponding total cost of crash-related deaths in California was estimated to be $4.48 billion in 2013 and growing. To develop a safe transportation system, it is necessary to effectively harness all of the core protective opportunities provided by the system. This includes the street design and operations, user behavior, vehicle design, protection systems, and emergency response. The common thread across these layers is speed. This is directly driven by the quadratic relationship between velocity and kinetic energy, and the necessity to provide safe and structured dispersion of kinetic energy at the onset of safety-critical events. The state has an opportunity to redefine the role of speed management as part of a safe system through the Zero Traffic Fatalities Task Force (ZTFTF) formed in response to AB 2363. This project will help inform the ZTFTF about safe system theory and applications that could have transformative impacts on the safety of Californians. The research team will provide evidence from European countries and cities to inform policies and programs to create a safe system in California that is unique to the state’s geography, mobility culture, and political and planning contexts. Researchers will summarize the theory and practice of safe systems approaches to transportation planning and engineering by synthesizing the peer reviewed and government source literature on safe transportation systems; evaluate the results of such systems to better understand which components are most influential for improving safety within specific contexts; review the mechanisms for implementing transportation projects in California (e.g. state vehicle code, highway design manual, manual on uniform transportation devices); and develop a framework for a California specific safe system for transportation.