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Our motoring editor answers your questions on Vision Zero and plans to eliminate road deaths
Q
What is Vision Zero?
A
In 1997, Sweden introduced its Vision Zero road-safety strategy to foster an approach based on the principle that any loss of life on the roads is unacceptable. At the heart of Vision Zero is the recognition that people are human and therefore prone to making mistakes, so we need to minimise the impact of these mistakes. It also recognises that the human body has a limited physical ability to tolerate crash forces, so speed limits must be set with these limitations in mind. Ireland’s 2020 Programme for Government committed to achieving Vision Zero and aimed at halving road deaths by 2030 and eliminating all road deaths and serious injuries on Irish roads by 2050.
Q
How is it different from traditional road safety systems?
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Vision Zero is a multidisciplinary approach to road safety, focusing on safe road design, education, enforcement and technology. Whereas traditional systems primarily focus on enforcement and driver behaviour without much emphasis on system-wide changes, the Vision Zero approach aims to create conditions that minimise the consequences of mistakes. Vision Zero places greater responsibility on road authorities and designers to create safe environments, and shifts the focus from blaming individuals for fatalities and injuries to designing safer roads, vehicles and policies.
Q
What about road design?
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Vision Zero prioritises safety over speed or convenience, so planning and design play the biggest part in reducing collisions. For example, roundabouts slow vehicles down, reduce collision impact and result in less severe injuries compared to accidents at junctions.
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And what about speed limits?
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Speed limits should be based not only on the road’s design but also on how much force the body can tolerate in a collision. This means, for example, having a speed limit of 80kmh on any road that lacks central barriers or a speed limit of 30kmh in city centres where pedestrians, cars and cyclists share the road.