VISION ZERO MILESTONE: MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 2017 HAD FEWEST TRAFFIC FATALITIES ON RECORD

With national trends continuing to show fatality increases, New York City has seen declines this year in pedestrian and cyclist fatalities 

  Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that under the Vision Zero program, New York City ended the first six months of 2017 with the fewest traffic fatalities ever measured. As of June 30^th, the city had recorded 93 fatalities, the first time ever that fewer than 100 lives had been lost in such a period.  The full fiscal year ending June 30^th recorded 210 fatalities, 31 fewer than the prior fiscal year. The reductions come as the City is increasing traffic enforcement against dangerous violations like speeding and redesigning a record number of streets to make them safer.                                                                               

“No loss of life on our streets is acceptable, but under Vision Zero, we have seen continued and consistent progress, with traffic fatalities on the decline for three-and-a-half-years, strongly countering national trends,” said Mayor de Blasio. “I thank the NYPD, DOT and supporting agencies on all their hard and innovative work to have us deliver this strong mid-year report.”

The Vision Zero highlights from the first six months of 2017 include:

·         Traffic fatalities have seen year-over-year declines since 2016 in most modes, including among pedestrians (47 as of June 30, 2017 compared to 63 fatalities in first six months of 2016).

·         Declines by borough have been largest in Queens (23 fatalities in 2017 compared to 32 in 2016), in Manhattan (20 in 2017 from 26 in 2016), and on Staten Island (5 this year from 11 last year).

Fiscal Year 2017, which concluded on June 30^th, was also the City’s safest Fiscal Year since recordkeeping began, with 31 fewer traffic deaths than Fiscal Year 16, and over 70 fewer – a 24 percent decline -- from FY14, the year Vision Zero was launched.  In contrast, from 2014-2106, according to the National Safety Council, the country as a whole has seen a 14 percent increase in traffic fatalities.

“Nowhere else in America has seen our year-over-year declines in traffic fatalities,” said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg.   “Under the Mayor’s leadership, we achieved the safest-ever fiscal year with the redesign of more streets than ever before.   We are especially proud of the past year’s innovative and collaborative Vision Zero work with our colleagues at sister agencies – including the Cross This Way curriculum and the Dusk & Darkness initiative – that we believe have made a real difference.  However, we know that even with under one hundred fatalities so far this year, that is still a hundred too many.  We have a lot more work to do, and in the months ahead, New Yorkers will be seeing DOT crews making safer streets around the City – from Queens Boulevard to Linden Boulevard in Brooklyn and Second Avenue in Manhattan. ”

“As we near our 500^th visit to the drivers and businesses we license across the city to share the lessons of Vision Zero and safer driving, this milestone reassures us that they are incorporating these lessons into their daily work,” said Taxi and Limousine Commission Chair and Chief Executive Officer Meera Joshi. “With the mayor’s guidance and leadership, we will continue to build on these successes as we move closer to our ultimate Vision Zero goals.”

Traffic fatalities have declined for three consecutive years under Vision Zero. Amongst its many strategies, New York City has: lowered the City’s default speed limit to 25 MPH; undertaken a historic number of street redesign projects targeting priority geographies in every borough; added thousands of new Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs) that serve as pedestrian head-starts; begun a pilot for calming left-turn, which are significant more dangerous; added more protected bike lanes; operated a robust camera enforcement program for speeding, red lights and bus lanes; and increased enforcement by NYPD of the City’s traffic laws.

Traffic Fatalities by Fiscal Year 1988-2017

Rank	Full Fiscal Year	Fatalities
1	FY17	210
2	FY11	240
3	FY16	241
4	FY15	251
5	FY13	260
6	FY10	270
7	FY09	274
8	FY14	288
9	FY12	290
10	FY08	297
11	FY05	301
12	FY06	309
13	FY07	316
14	FY04	338
15	FY03	368
16	FY01	386
17	FY02	399
18	FY99	405
19	FY00	407
20	FY98	415
21	FY97	443
22	FY94	472
23	FY96	482
24	FY95	497
25	FY93	573
26	FY88	592
27	FY92	603
28	FY89	635
29	FY90	679
30	FY91	687

For more information about the de Blasio Administration’s Vision Zero initiative, please see www.nyc.gov/visionzero.