vision zero

Chris Nelson used Edmonton's own motor vehicle collision data to make a chart showing who -- or, more often, what -- is on the receiving end when Edmonton motorists crash their cars. It quickly dispels any rationale for focusing on jaywalking.

Chicago transportation commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld is voicing support for a proposal to use a device known as a "textalyzer" to crack down on distracted driving with cellphones. Two aldermen, Anthony Beale Beale (9th) and Edward Burke (14th), have introduced a resolution asking the Chicago Police Department to look into using a $10,000 device from Cellebrite, which makes phone data extraction and hacking tools, that would allow officers to immediately copy the data on a motorist’s phone to determine if they had been using it while driving.

A presentation at last week’s Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Council meeting indicates that the city has made some progress on the plan and we should be seeing the fruits of their labor soon.

U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer has introduced legislation in the House that would help cities establish Vision Zero policies aimed at eliminating traffic deaths, reports Jonathan Maus at Bike Portland. “Something has to change," Blumenauer said. "We have to do better and finally treat this public health crisis."

You can sign the letter to make it clear that there should never be a such miscarriage of justice after a DUI crash death in our city again.

The ex-CDOT chief says the feds' Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety model, which calls for targeting crash and crime "hot spots" could save lives and help prevent police profiling

The issue is complicated by the fact that Chicago's underserved neighborhoods seem to be disproportionately impacted by serious and fatal crashes.

Why is the city creating an interdepartmental strategy to end traffic violence within a finite period of time, but not one for gun violence?

Note: Streetsblog Chicago will be on vacation on Monday, October 3, and will resume publication on Tuesday.