Vision Zero

​Vision Zero

The City of Charlotte has always placed strong emphasis on a safe transportation system for all users. This drives our every decision. We believe it’s our collective responsibility to create safe travel for all.

Across the globe, Vision Zero is saving and protecting lives. Vision Zero started in Sweden in 1997. It’s a strategy to eliminate all traffic-related deaths and severe injuries, while increasing safety, health and mobility for all. Vision Zero focuses on how people naturally behave. People make mistakes but mistakes should not be fatal.

​Over the past ten years our city has seen explosive population growth, adding close to 200,000 more drivers, pedestrians and cyclists to our streets, paths and intersections. Charlotte has responded by creating a variety of safe ways for people to move around the city and connect with each other – we’ve upgraded intersections, added more bike lanes and built additional sidewalks – as we continue to work towards the best possible transportation and pedestrian safety systems for our growing city.

In 2017, drivers in Charlotte logged more than 23 million miles on our streets, up nearly a million miles from the year before. While the number of crashes in our city actually decreased by 4% compared to 2016, the number of fatalities from those crashes increased by 35% in 2017.

Crashes and fatalities not only take a toll on human life, but also on the city’s capital – affecting loved ones, health care facilities, businesses and many other areas of our community.

That’s why Charlotte is renewing its commitment to safer streets in 2018 with the creation of Vision Zero, an action plan designed to reduce crashes and eliminate traffic-related deaths and severe injuries by 2030. Why? Because even one traffic-related death is too many.

​As a community, it's our responsibility to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries for all who share Charlotte streets by 2030.

The following principles recognize this belief and will guide the actions and performance measures of Charlotte’s Vision Zero Action Plan.

  1. Traffic deaths and severe injuries are preventable and unacceptable.
  2. Protecting human lives takes priority over all other objectives of the road system.
  3. The transportation system should be designed so mistakes are not fatal.
  4. Solutions must be collaborative, equitable and data-driven.
  5. Safety on our streets is everyone’s responsibility.
  6. Our community is accountable for implementing the Vision Zero Action Plan, measuring performance and responding accordingly.

​For additional information, visit the Vision Zero Task Force page to see what agencies have joined Charlotte's Vision Zero initiative: Vision Zero Task Force

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is recognized globally for prominent efforts to reduce road casualties. It offers an opportunity for drawing attention to the scale of the emotional and economic devastation caused by road crashes and for giving recognition to the suffering of road crash victims and the work of support, rescue services, and law enforcement. 

The City of Charlotte has adopted Vision Zero, a strategy to eliminate all traffic-related deaths and severe injuries while increasing safety, health, and mobility for all. The Mayor proclaimed Charlotte a Vision Zero city in March 2019. The Charlotte Department of Transportation leads a community-wide effort to implement its 2019 Vision Zero Action Plan. 

Vision Zero is an injury reduction strategy, not a crash reduction strategy. There will always be transportation users who make errors and use poor judgment, but those errors should not be fatal. We spoke with three families who unfortunately lost a loved one to road traffic violence and are a part of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Traffic Fatality Support Group. We would like to remember and share their lost loved one’s story on this World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. 

01:14 - Bonnie Mitchell's brother, Karim Abdul Akbar 

07:20 - Cora Hilliard's son, Jamel Hilliard 

18:14 - William Ratliff's daughter, Sierra Ratliff 

Together, we must act to ensure that all users of the roadway system are loved ones and actively avoid risks such as speeding, driving impaired, and not wearing a seatbelt. We must redesign roads with all users in mind, not just vehicles. And, ensure that vehicles everywhere are equipped with life-saving technologies. This year’s World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims highlights the fact that even after a road traffic crash occurs there is still an enormous opportunity to save lives and reduce disability. Additionally, challenge yourself to stop using the word “accident.” Traffic crashes are fixable problems. They are not accidents. Let’s stop using the word "accident" today. 

On this World Day of Remembrance, let us honor in the best way possible, those who have lost their lives and take the urgent steps needed to make our roads safe for all. Because even one traffic fatality is too many. 

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Contacts

Project Manager:

Angela Berry
704-432-5259

Media requests:

Scierra Bratton

Watch For Me NC

Watch For Me NC 

View larger map

High Injury Network

​The City of Charlotte is establishing a Task Force to develop a plan a Vision Zero Action Plan. Below are the organizations represented on the task force. Stay tuned for more information as the plan develops.

            Vision Zero Task Force
Anuvia
Atrium Health Care Injury Prevention Center
​Charlotte AARP
Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS)
Charlotte Communications & Marketing
Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT)
​Charlotte District Attorney's Office
Charlotte Fire Department
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS)
CMS - Driver Education
Charlotte Planning, Design & Development
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD)
CMPD - Victim Services
Charlotte Office of Data Analytics  
​Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO)
​Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE) / NC Vision Zero
Mecklenburg County Public Health
Mecklenburg County Sherriff's Office
Mecklenburg Transportation Alliance
​MeckRolls
North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)
Sustain Charlotte

Vision Zero Interactive Map 

Get Involved! We want to hear from you! Check out the interactive map, put a pin on it and share your experience on Charlotte's streets whether driving, walking or cycling.

Enforcement Focus Areas Map 

Enforcement Focus Areas Map

The Enforcement Focus Area Map focuses on areas for targeted enforcement. CMPD uses serious injury and fatal crash data to conduct enforcement targeting speeding, seatbelt use, driving while impaired and distracted driving.