When it comes to road safety in Winnipeg, we are working towards Vision Zero. This means we want a future where no one is seriously injured or killed on our roads.
The Winnipeg Road Safety Strategic Action Plan is the roadmap to get us there. With Vision Zero in mind for the future, the plan sets a short-term goal of reducing fatal and serious injury collisions by 20 percent over the next five years.
It also outlines five areas for us to focus on:
- Road safety culture
- Speed
- Pedestrian safety
- Cyclist safety
- Intersection safety
Safe systems
We developed our plan using the Safe System approach to preventing serious injury and death.
In a safe system, five aspects of transportation work together to reduce risk.
Safe vehicles
- Vehicles are designed and built with features that protect both passengers and those outside the vehicle.
- Today, we see things like seatbelts and airbags are in every vehicle. As new technologies emerge, we see new things become more common. An example of this is blind spot detection, which is now in more and more vehicles.
- Vehicle manufacturers’ role in safe systems is making vehicles as safe as possible. Industry leaders put in place regulations to ensure all manufacturers deliver on this.
Slower speeds
- Travelling slower reduces the chance of a crash. It also reduces the risk of serious injury if a crash does happen.
- Consider this: driving even five kilometres over the speed limit makes it harder to stop. It also increases the risk of serious injury or death.
- Traffic professionals are responsible for recommending safe speed limits. Lawmakers are responsible for enacting safe speed limits. Drivers are responsible for following posted speed limits and driving to conditions.
Safe road design
- The way roads are designed and built affects how safe they are.
- Adding bike lanes and sidewalks gives cyclists and pedestrians a safer place to travel. Traffic calming, like traffic circles or speed humps, can slow cars down, making roads safer for everyone.
- Traffic professionals are responsible for planning and designing the transportation network to its safest.
Safe road users
- How people behave is as important as how a road is designed.
- Education on how to be safe pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers is an essential part of a safe system.
- Road users can help keep everyone safe by following the rules of the road – drive the speed limit, look both ways before crossing, and familiarize yourself with new infrastructure so you’re not caught in an unsafe situation on the road.
Care provided after a collision
- When a person is hurt in a collision, the care they receive from emergency services and at the hospital can impact recovery. They rely on emergency first responders to quickly locate them, stabilize their injury, and transport them to medical facilities.
- Post-crash care also includes forensic analysis at the crash site, traffic incident management, and other activities.
- Emergency responders and law enforcement are responsible for providing fast and efficient response when there is a crash.
Safe land use planning
- Land use planning can help make travel safer for all road users. Incorporating sidewalks, multi-use paths, and separated bike lanes early in the planning process helps everyone move around safely, using their chosen mode.
- Road safety policies are integrated into community planning. This can look like keeping high-speed roads away from schools and parks or installing pedestrian corridors to support transit access.
As you can see, road safety is a shared responsibility. Everyone has a role to play in making roads safer.