The Obama administration is setting a goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and injuries in the United States within the next 30 years.
Transportation Department officials laid out a plan Wednesday that would focus first on promoting efforts such as increased seat belt use, the use of rumble strips and campaigns against drunken and distracted driving.
The rapid introduction of self-driving cars and other advanced technologies makes it possible to achieve the zero deaths goal, the department said in a statement. Fully autonomous vehicles hold the potential to eliminate human error, which is a factor in 94 percent of crashes, according to the department.
“We know that setting the bar for safety to the highest possible standard requires commitment from everyone to think differently about safety, from drivers to industry, safety organizations and government at all levels,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
The plan was prompted by a 7.2 percent surge in road deaths last year. Preliminary estimates for the first six months of 2016 released in August by the National Safety Council show the rate of increase has accelerated, with fatalities up 9 percent over the same period last year.
The zero deaths idea was first adopted in Sweden in 1997 as a plan called Vision Zero. It has since been adopted elsewhere, including several U.S. cities.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
I suspect one consequence of this goal will be that humans will eventually no longer be allowed or empowered to drive. This could be achieved with exorbitant insurance premiums, elimination of the steering wheel, and ultimately simply making it illegal.
Cars kill more people than guns, we should start eliminating cars.(none of this is true).
People kill people, removing the weapons and autos would not stop the killings.
Suggestion: Men can only drive on odd days, women only on even days.
Use of cell phones while driving: penalty should be to suspend phone# for 30 days and
turn in your phone to the court. Of course a handling and storage fee goes along with it.
Any better ideas out there?
Never happen. Too many idiots on the roads.
Who out there in website land knows of a machine that never malfunctions? We hear/read of workers dying in workplace accidents all the time. Also these fancy new self-propelled “Jetson” cars will be expensive as hell. We will all be living like ants in apartment complexes that are built close to the high-speed rail lines. Goodbye to even the semblance of freedom.
Sounds just like the living arrangements for us in U.N. Agenda 21 (now called Agenda 2030).
If they really gave a damn about traffic deaths, they would eliminate 4,500 a year by deporting illegal aliens, who kill about that many Americans in drunk driving incidents EVERY YEAR.
There are no statistics for illegals killing Americans because they are simply bad (not drunk) drivers.