Zero is our goal. A Safe System
is how we will get there.
Death/Serious Injury
is Unacceptable
Humans
Make Mistakes
Humans Are
Vulnerable
Safety is
Proactive
Redundancy
is Crucial
Responsibility
is Shared
While no crashes are desirable, the
Safe System approach prioritizes
crashes that result in death and
serious injuries, since no one should
experience either when using the
transportation system.
People will inevitably make mistakes
that can lead to crashes, but the
transportation system can be designed
and operated to accommodate human
mistakes and injury tolerances and
avoid death and serious injuries.
People have limits for tolerating crash
forces before death and serious injury
occurs; therefore, it is critical to
design and operate a transportation
system that is human-centric and
accommodates human vulnerabilities.
All stakeholders (transportation
system users and managers,
vehicle manufacturers, etc.) must
ensure that crashes don’t lead to
fatal or serious injuries.
Reducing risks requires that all
parts of the transportation system
are strengthened, so that if one
part fails, the other parts still
protect people.
Proactive tools should be used to
identify and mitigate latent risks in
the transportation system, rather
than waiting for crashes to occur
and reacting afterwards.
FHWA-SA-20-015
Imagine a world where nobody has to die from
vehicle crashes. The Safe System approach aims to
eliminate fatal & serious injuries for all road users. It
does so through a holistic view of the road system that
first anticipates human mistakes and second keeps
impact energy on the human body at tolerable levels.
Safety is an ethical imperative of the designers and owners
of the transportation system. Here’s what you need to know
to bring the Safe System approach to your community.
Safe
Speeds
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Safe
Vehicles
Post-Crash
Care
Safe Road
Users
Safe
Roads
THE
SAFE SYSTEM
APPROACH
?
Implementing the Safe System approach is our shared responsibility,
and we all have a role. It requires shifting how we think about
transportation safety and how we prioritize our transportation
investments. Consider applying a Safe System lens to upcoming
projects and plans in your community: put safety at the forefront and
design to accommodate human mistakes and injury tolerances. Visit
safety.wa.dot.gov/zerodeaths to learn more.
Making a commitment to zero deaths means addressing every aspect of crash risks through the five
elements of a Safe System, shown below. These layers of protection and shared responsibility promote a holistic
approach to safety across the entire transportation system. The key focus of the Safe System approach is to
reduce death and serious injuries through design that accommodates human mistakes and injury tolerances.
The Safe System
approach addresses
the safety of all road
users, including
those who walk,
bike, drive, ride
transit, and travel by
other modes.
Vehicles are
designed and
regulated to
minimize the
occurrence and
severity of collisions
using safety
measures that
incorporate the
latest technology.
Humans are unlikely
to survive high-speed
crashes. Reducing
speeds can
accommodate human
injury tolerances in
three ways: reducing
impact forces,
providing additional
time for drivers to
stop, and improving
visibility.
Designing to
accommodate human
mistakes and injury
tolerances can greatly
reduce the severity of
crashes that do occur.
Examples include
physically separating
people traveling at
dierent speeds,
providing dedicated
times for dierent
users to move through
a space, and alerting
users to hazards and
other road users.
When a person is
injured in a collision,
they rely on
emergency first
responders to quickly
locate them, stabilize
their injury, and
transport them to
medical facilities.
Post-crash care also
includes forensic
analysis at the crash
site, trac incident
management, and
other activities.
Safe Road
Users
Safe
Vehicles
Safe
Speeds
Safe
Roads
Post-Crash
Care
.
Traditional
Prevent crashes
Safe System
Prevent deaths and serious injuries
Improve human behavior Design for human mistakes/limitations
Control speeding Reduce system kinetic energy
Individuals are responsible Share responsibility
React based on crash history Proactively identify and address risks
Whereas traditional road safety
strives to modify human behavior
and prevent all crashes, the Safe
System approach also refocuses
transportation system design and
operation on anticipating human
mistakes and lessening impact
forces to reduce crash severity
and save lives.
