Vision Zero is a set of principles and policies aimed at eliminating serious injuries and fatalities involving road traffic. It shifts responsibility for crashes from road users to the designers of the road system – if one occurs, it is up to authorities to ensure that it does not happen again.
This Council notes that:
- Road collision statistics in Surrey have hardly changed over the last 10 years.
- In 2021 24 people were killed and 647 were seriously injured.
- The effects of a road traffic collision can have a physical, emotional, social and economic impact on everyone involved.
- In financial terms the cost of road collisions in Surrey was approximately £250m in 2021.
This Council further notes that:
Vision Zero is a set of principles and policies aimed at eliminating serious injuries and fatalities involving road traffic. It shifts responsibility for crashes from road users to the designers of the road system – if one occurs, it is up to authorities to ensure that it does not happen again.
Vision Zero ambition has already been adopted by comparable authorities such as Essex, Kent and Oxfordshire County Councils. This Council calls on the Cabinet:
- To adopt a Vision Zero “Safe System” approach to road danger reduction.
- To work closely with partners and stakeholders to take a whole system approach, working together on infrastructure, behaviour, technology and legislation to achieve this change.
- To set a target date for there to be zero fatalities and severe injuries on Surrey’s roads.
- To embed Vision Zero in all relevant Surrey County Council policies, including, but not limited to, implementing LTP4.
- To instruct officers to bring a paper to Cabinet within six months to address how these points will be achieved.