The Vision Zero is the Swedish approach to road safety thinking. It can be summarized in one sentence: No loss of life is acceptable. The Vision Zero approach has proven highly successful. It is based on the simple fact that we are human and make mistakes. The road system needs to keep us moving. It also must be designed to protect us at every turn.
The Vision Zero was conceived in 1994. Like all good ideas this one travelled fast. Just three years later the Parliament passed a Road Traffic Safety Bill that put the Vision Zero into the Swedish law. The bill sets an ultimate target of no deaths or serious injuries on Sweden’s roads, and it is not satisfied with merely reducing accidents to an economically manageable level. Sweden has since modelled its road safety reform strategy on the Vision Zero approach. Many other countries have adopted the same approach sometimes also called sustainable safety (NL) or Safe System Approach (OECD).
The Vision Zero has also contributed to competence and technical developments that we think can be useful to the rest of the world because road safety is still one of the greatest safety risks especially for young around the world.
