Preface

Book chapter, 2022

Globally, about 1.3 million people die every year in road traffic crashes and about 50 million are injured. For long, the death toll on roads was considered to be a necessary price that we have to pay for our mobility and development. But beginning in the late 1990s, an alternative approach to road safety has become more and more influential. The Vision Zero movement declares that every severe crash in road traffic is an avoidable failure and that no other goal is satisfactory than zero fatalities and serious injuries. This is by no means a new idea. Similar views have been expressed in many other areas of safety management. Safety work based on the idea that every accident is one too much can be found in workplace safety, fire safety, aviation, suicide prevention, patient safety, infection control, and many other areas. Zero goals are also gaining traction in environmental protection and sustainable development work. Terms such as zero waste, zero emissions, zero carbon, and zero poverty have become increasingly important in climate and environmental policies. Detractors claim that Vision Zero is too stringent and therefore also unrealistic. But practical experience has shown again and again that the Vision Zero approach can efficiently reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries. Of course, it is not enough to set up Vision Zero as a goal. Its effects materialize when it is systematically applied, and every serious accident is treated as a failure that must not be repeated. This handbook is the first comprehensive collection of knowledge and experience of Vision Zero. Its contributing authors are experts from all around the world, representing a wide range of academic disciplines and an equally wide range of specializations in practical safety management.