New York City wins ITF award

New York City has won the 2018 Transport Achievement Award of the International Transport Forum (ITF) at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The city’s Department of Transportation was recognised for its commitment to Vision Zero – a programme set up to help cut and eliminate traffic deaths. Mayor Bill de Blasio launched the city’s Vision Zero programme in New York in 2014. The initiative is said to have reduced the number of traffic deaths on New York’s streets by 20% and halved
May 25, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
New York City has won the 2018 Transport Achievement Award of the 998 International Transport Forum (ITF) at the 5342 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The city’s Department of Transportation was recognised for its commitment to %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external Vision Zero false http://visionzero.global/ false false%> – a programme set up to help cut and eliminate traffic deaths.


Mayor Bill de Blasio launched the city’s Vision Zero programme in New York in 2014. The initiative is said to have reduced the number of traffic deaths on New York’s streets by 20% and halved pedestrian fatalities. The city saw 214 traffic deaths in 2017 – the lowest number since records began in 1910.

Additionally, Vision Zero has reportedly reduced the rate of vehicle collisions with children under 14 years to one fatality in 2017. Meanwhile, numerous safety improvements at Queens Boulevard has reached a third consecutive year without any known pedestrian or cyclist fatalities.

In a broader context, findings revealed the number of US road deaths grew by more than 13% between 2013 and 2016. Cyclist, motorcyclist and car passenger fatalities also increased in 2017.

Young-Tae Kim, ITF secretary-general, says: “New York City has created an exemplary road safety programme that is a showcase for addressing urban road safety as a public health issue.”

Related Content

  • Rapidly-changing mobility environment is challenging policymakers, says UK DfT
    January 25, 2019
    Policy makers are working hard to make sense of a rapidly-changing mobility environment, according to a senior official from the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT). Ella Taylor, DfT’s head, future of mobility, Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (C/AV), says the pace of development in transportation modes, such as e-scooters (not currently allowed in the UK) and e-bikes (which are), presents difficulties for governments trying to create standards and laws. “Across the globe, different modes
    Read More
  • Gig economy drivers and riders at increased risk of collisions, warns UCL
    September 3, 2018
    Self-employed courier or taxi drivers who get their work through apps could be more likely to be involved in a collision, says a new study. The University College London (UCL) research found 63% of ‘gig’ economy respondents – who are not paid a salary - are not provided with safety training about managing risks on the road. The emerging issues for management of occupational road risk in a changing economy: A survey of gig economy drivers, riders and their managers also revealed 65% of drivers did not
    Read More
  • Painted lanes ‘a waste of money’, say UK cycling champions
    June 18, 2019
    The UK government has wasted hundreds of millions of pounds painting white lines on busy roads to use as cycle lanes, says former Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman. Boardman, cycling and walking commissioner for Greater Manchester, has reportedly joined fellow commissioners Dame Sarah Storey (Sheffield City region) and Will Norman (London) in writing to transport secretary Chris Grayling calling for new measures to be adopted. The Guardian says the letter argues that painted cycle lanes do not make cyc
    Read More
  • Washington Post game highlights AV flaws
    September 11, 2019
    Mind the kangaroos! That is among the more surprising suggestions in a new entertainment which purports to illustrate the pitfalls of autonomous vehicles (AVs). US media giant The Washington Post has created a short interactive game which “shows readers how autonomous cars function and breaks down the technology to educate viewers about their limitations and challenges”. These include sensor blind spots and confusion over what other road users are about to do. The five-minute game takes the form of a jou
    Read More

Highlighted Content