Road to Zero Coalition Marks First Anniversary
The National Safety Council and partners celebrate year one of working to end traffic fatalities.
40,000 people died on U.S. roads in just 2016. Traffic fatalities continue to increase and people have had enough of this rampant problem. That is why, one year ago, the National Safety Council and partner organizations, made it clear that they had one major goal to accomplish: end all traffic fatalities within 30 years. The initiative, deemed the Road to Zero, kicked off in October of 2016. The Department of Transportation will be contributing $1 million a year for the next three years in order to fund different grants and organizations who choose to make the commitment and support the Road to Zero program.
More than 225 organizations have pledged to help eliminate traffic fatalities, including:
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Federal Highway Administration
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Road to Zero continues to get organizations to show their support and join the coalition each day. These are organizations who have seen the staggering traffic fatality statistics and have pledged to do something to stop the growing numbers. Traffic fatalities increased 14% from 2014 to 2016. This is the largest increase in more than 5 decades.
Some may think completely putting a stop to traffic fatalities is an unattainable goal. The Road to Zero coalition does not think this to be the case mainly because of this: traffic fatalities are preventable. People do not have to die on the roads. Just think about this, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that human error plays a part in 94% of traffic fatalities. This is a huge statistic! You might be thinking that if human error is the major contributing factor to traffic fatalities, it will always be a problem. Advances in technology, however, may make human driving errors a thing of the past.
Driverless cars continue to develop every day. These are vehicles that, if they are out on the roads in vast numbers, would not need traffic lights because the cars could communicate with each other to let other cars when they could safely travel through the intersection. These are vehicles that would know, based on traffic patterns and other factors, what a safe speed of travel would be. The possible features of driverless cars could be a major factor in reducing, if not totally eliminating, traffic fatalities.
As we all work to preventing traffic fatalities, remember to stay safe out there on the roads. Motor vehicle crashes can cause devastating injuries and even death. Being injured in a car accident will have far reaching impacts on your life and your health. Attorney Rob Lovett is here to do all he can to help you through this difficult time. Contact the Lovett Law Firm and protect your legal rights to compensation for your injuries.