AASHTO Journal - AASHTO Hosting Toward Zero Deaths Webinar

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials will host a Toward Zero Deaths or TZD webinar on October 27 to examine the need for infrastructure investments to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety, as the number of them killed or injured continues to grow in the United States.

[Above photo by the Virginia DOT.]

The TZD Subcommittee within AASHTO’s Committee on Safety will moderate this webinar, which will explore city, state, and federal perspectives on how to achieve greater safety and equity for pedestrians and bicyclists. To register for this webinar, click here.

Transportation safety has been one of the key emphases areas of Patrick McKenna, director of the Missouri Department of Transportation, during his one-year term as AASHTO’s 2019-2020 president.

Pedestrian safety, in particular, is also getting more attention from the transportation industry.

The U.S. Department of Transportation, for example, designated October as the agency’s first-ever national Pedestrian Safety Month as part of its continuing efforts to improve safety for vulnerable road users.

“At some point in the day, we are all pedestrians – especially right now, when everyone wants to get outside for some fresh air,” James Owens, deputy administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in a statement.

“Everyone has a role to play in ensuring pedestrian safety,” he added. “We must keep working to reduce pedestrian deaths from traffic crashes and this first-ever Pedestrian Safety Month will help save lives in communities across the country.”

“[We are] partnering with states and local communities to implement innovations in pedestrian safety by promoting proven safety countermeasures,” added Nicole Nason, administrator of the Federal Highway Administration.

“Collaboration will be key as we all work toward the shared goal of reducing the number of fatalities and serious injuries on our roadways,” she emphasized. “We must work together to make our roads safer for our most vulnerable road users – pedestrians.”