New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio thanks NYPD officers for work on the Vision Zero program to reduce traffic fatalities.For the fourth consecutive year, New York City has seen a drop in traffic fatalities, with 2017 marking the greatest percentage drop since recordkeeping began in 1910, according to the mayor’s office.
Last year saw a 32-percent drop in pedestrian deaths, the steepest drop in the city’s history.
In 2017, 214 people – 101 of them pedestrians – died in traffic crashes, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio. This compares to 231 total fatalities and 148 pedestrian deaths in 2016.
The mayor attributes the reduction to the Vision Zero program. The program, which has been in effect four years, includes street safety redesigns and turning treatments, and reprogramming traffic signals to give pedestrians a head start in crosswalks, the office says. Its goal is zero traffic deaths.
“The lower speed limit, increased enforcement and safer street designs are all building on each other to keep New Yorkers safe,” he said.
The program emphasizes reducing pedestrian deaths, which historically have represented the majority of traffic fatalities in the city. In 2017, however, pedestrian deaths dropped to 47 percent of all traffic fatalities, the mayor reports.
