Safer Vehicles
Ultimately, the continued development of safer vehicles has the potential to virtually eliminate traffic crashes. Overall, traffic fatalities in the US have declined since a peak of 54,600 in 1972 as a result of improved vehicle safety measures like seat belts, airbags, and anti-lock braking. Today, exciting new technologies are being developed that can help avoid traffic crashes through the use of sensors and automated vehicle controls for braking and steering.
20 major automakers representing 99 percent of the U.S. auto market have voluntarily agreed to make automatic emergency braking a standard feature on virtually all new cars by 2022. These and other safety features are already present in many new vehicle models available today. Fremont’s efforts in the area of Safer Vehicles include promoting purchase of vehicles with these technologies and ensuring that drivers with these technologies know how to properly use them. Fremont is also planning to deploy infrastructure that can communicate with vehicles to improve safety.
Conducting research on buying a new car, or would like to know what safety features your car currently has? Check out this website on research into safety features on cars, or to look up safety features on your car's brand. Accelerating the deployment of crash avoidance technologies in all vehicles is perhaps the way to achieve Vision Zero everywhere!
Watch the piece below featured in the New York Times highlighting Vision Zero 2020 and safety technology in vehicles.
Project Spotlight
Fremont Boulevard Safe and Smart Corridor
The Safe and Smart Corridor along Fremont Boulevard will deploy available technologies to improve the management of existing and future traffic conditions and ensure safety for all road users. The project will also create a corridor to pilot new technologies that advance the City of Fremont’s Vision Zero Policy and Climate Action Plan. The project includes adaptive traffic signals, advanced traffic signal controllers, communications infrastructure, a central management system, and traffic monitoring equipment. The project will also enable deployment of emergency vehicle preemption and transit signal priority for the length of the corridor. In addition, the project will enable the demonstration of connected vehicle technology, including communication of signal timing information to vehicles in the corridor and sensors for bicycles and pedestrians to communicate with the traffic signal systems to ensure safe crossing times for vulnerable users. Finally, the project will pilot Digital Short Range Communications (DSRC) to allow equipped vehicles to communicate with traffic signals and speed detection cameras that will facilitate management of vehicle speeds. The City received a grant for the project in 2017 and the project is currently being designed.