Achieving the vision of eliminating deaths and serious injuries from our region’s roads may seem daunting since traffic fatalities have been trending upward. To make meaningful progress, we need to change the way we think about the traffic safety problem and apply an approach centered around creating a road system that accommodates inevitable human mistakes.
The Metro Regional Transportation Safety Strategy uses the Safe System approach to support eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries in the greater Portland region. The Safe System approach is a recognized international road safety best practice that is rapidly gaining awareness and application in the United States. Other countries that had their road safety improvements plateau were able to achieve significant reductions in roadway deaths by adopting Safe System principles. Working to create a Safe System requires strengthening all elements of the system and leveraging collaborative partnerships.
Metro is hosting a webinar training for regional partners working on transportation safety and interested parties. The training is provided by the Federal Highway Administration’s Resource Center, presented by Mark Doctor, P.E., Senior Safety and Design Engineer.
In this webinar you will learn about the six foundational principles of the Safe System approach, the five elements of the system that must work together to achieve the vision of zero roadway deaths and the important distinctions that make a Safe System approach different from traditional approaches to road safety. The webinar will also highlight examples specific to the Safe Roads and Safe Speeds elements of the Safe System approach. This is part 1 of a 2-part series. Part 2 will take place in the fall of 2022 and will provide more detailed application workshop specific to the Portland region.