Achieving Vision Zero: Strategies for Road Safety

Thousands of people get behind the wheel daily, but sadly, some never make it home. In 2024 alone, traffic crashes claimed 39,345 lives in the U.S.—a drop from previous years, but still far too many. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it’s the first time since 2020 that the number has dropped below 40,000.

Vision Zero is a national initiative built on the simple idea that no traffic death is acceptable. The Vision Zero Network believes that 100% of these losses can be prevented through better policies, smarter planning, and the right tools.

Omnisight is helping communities move toward this goal. Learn how the Fusion Sensor fits into Vision Zero action plans and supports safer streets for everyone.

What Is Vision Zero?

Vision Zero began in Sweden, where it was officially adopted by parliament in 1997. Since then, it’s become an international movement focused on eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries.

Today, any city can commit to becoming a Vision Zero community. In the U.S., more than 60 major metropolitan areas have already made that pledge. 

Here are the core principles that define a Vision Zero community:

• Clear objectives. A Vision Zero city must be committed to the principle that no traffic-related fatality or serious injury is acceptable and that all traffic deaths can be prevented. All Vision Zero communities should include a target date and a pledge to reduce all traffic fatalities to zero by that date.
• Strong leadership. The mayor or chief city official must make a public, formally recognized commitment to Vision Zero principles. The city leadership must also collaborate to make it possible, including departments of transportation, public health officials, and local community partners.
• Anticipating human error. Vision Zero recognizes that human mistakes are inevitable and designs around them. Unlike traditional safety efforts focusing primarily on individual behavior, Vision Zero emphasizes system-level changes that reduce the chances of a mistake leading to a fatality.
  
  This mindset closely aligns with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe System Approach, which shares the same core principle: the responsibility for safety is shared among road designers, vehicle manufacturers, policymakers, and users. Both frameworks advocate for safer street design, reduced speeds, and policies that account for human vulnerability, turning preventable mistakes into survivable events.
  
  

Strategies in a Vision Zero Action Plan

Becoming a Vision Zero community is about promoting safer mobility for all road users, from pedestrians to cyclists, drivers, and truckers. 

While each community’s transportation system is unique, most cities adopt the following strategies to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries:

Speed Management Initiatives

Speeding remains one of the leading contributors to traffic deaths in the United States. In 2022, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reported that speed was a factor in 29% of all crash fatalities. Higher speeds are consistently linked to more severe outcomes—even a 5 mph increase can raise fatality rates by 8.5% on highways and 2.8% on other roads.

Vision Zero communities prioritize speed management to reduce the likelihood and severity of collisions, especially in densely populated areas. Common strategies include lowering speed limits, installing traffic-calming features like speed humps, chicanes, and raised crosswalks, and using sensors to monitor vehicle speeds automatically.

Safer Streets and Infrastructure

Creating safer streets means rethinking how everyone uses roads. City leaders must be prepared to modify street layouts and infrastructure to prioritize safety for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.

Examples of infrastructure improvements include: 

• Creating protected bike lanes with physical barriers to limit the risk of collisions between cars and bicycles.
• Building curb extensions at intersections to improve pedestrian visibility, narrow roadways, and shorten crossing times.
• Implementing daylighting measures prohibiting cars, trucks, and obstructions within 20 to 30 feet of a crosswalk, improving sightlines, and reducing the risk of “right turn on red” collisions.
• Implementing Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs), a proven safety measure that gives pedestrians 3 to 7 seconds to enter a crosswalk before cars get a green light.

Identification of High Injury Networks

A High Injury Network (HIN) refers to streets or areas with a disproportionately high number of fatal or serious injury crashes. Mapping these networks helps cities pinpoint where safety improvements are most urgently needed.

To identify HINs, many cities deploy a range of sensors—cameras, radar, LIDAR, or inductive loops—across the road network. Sensor data is collected over 3 to 5 years to track crash patterns. Once analyzed, this information highlights which corridors present the greatest risks to road users.

How the Fusion Sensor Supports Vision Zero Road Safety Objectives

Omnisight’s Fusion Sensor is a multimodal traffic safety sensor that uses data fusion. Instead of deploying multiple, individual sensors, the Fusion Sensor combines:

• AI-enabled high-definition video camera
• HD3D radar
• Onboard processing with TrueEdge
• Wired and wireless connections

This integrated approach allows the Fusion Sensor to deliver high-quality, real-time insights that help cities meet their Vision Zero commitments.
Here’s how it supports key road safety goals:

• Accurate object detection. The Fusion Sensor can detect and classify objects—including pedestrians, cyclists, cars, and large trucks—with 98.7% accuracy. This level of detail supports traffic pattern analysis and HIN identification. Its 24/7 operation and all-weather reliability ensure continuous, uninterrupted data collection.
• Speed monitoring. The Fusion Sensor can continuously monitor vehicle speeds and lane usage, supporting speed enforcement initiatives and supplying long-term data to city planning authorities.
• Real-time incident detection. With onboard processing and a data transmission rate of up to 20 times per second, the Fusion Sensor delivers immediate updates. It can notify traffic safety teams and law enforcement as incidents occur, enabling faster response times and minimizing risk to road users.
  
  

Make Your Road Network Safer With Omnisight

Safer streets are built with strong policy, data-backed decisions, fast response systems, and proactive planning. The Fusion Sensor delivers the high-precision insights cities need to reduce traffic deaths, improve infrastructure, and confidently meet Vision Zero goals.

Schedule a consultation with Omnisight to learn how the Fusion Sensor can support your traffic safety strategy now and in the years ahead.