Local road safety leaders are overlooking a key element for success. Of the five core elements of a Safe System Approach (Safer People, Safer Roads, Safer Speeds, Safer Vehicles, and Post-Crash Response), the one that is least represented in local roadway safety/Vision Zero plans and priorities is a focus on vehicles. Understandably, many assume that vehicle safety regulation is something that the federal government controls – which is largely true. However, state and local agencies can and do also influence the safety of the vehicles on our roads. It’s time to step up local leadership on vehicle safety. Toole Design and Vision Zero Network have teamed up to share five key strategies that local governments can use to promote “Safer Vehicles” in their communities.
People, bikes, buses, and big trucks share this busy Boston street — showing why safer vehicle design matters
Think about the number of vehicles that public agencies in your community purchase: fire trucks, waste vehicles, police cars, ambulances, school buses, dump trucks, snowplows, transit vehicles, cars, trucks, vans, etc. For example, Toledo, OH has over 600 vehicles in their own municipal fleet. There are dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of opportunities to make vehicles traveling on your local roads safer by just addressing your local municipal fleet.
Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
There is cause to be concerned about the vehicles, both municipally and privately owned, operating on our roadways. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has found that vehicles with hoods taller than 40 inches are about 45% more likely to cause fatalities in pedestrian crashes than cars with hoods 30 inches or less. IIHS’ research shows that bigger vehicles do not make you much safer as an occupant, but they do make you a greater danger to others on the road.
These front-end vehicle heights are not the only things growing in size and danger. Vehicles are also getting heavier and their blind zones are expanding, both increasing risks, especially with greater adoption of electric vehicles. The forward blind zones have been growing significantly, with a recent study finding that top-selling SUV models have had a 58% reduction in visibility from 1997-2003. Transport for London found that if a person can see a pedestrian directly with their eyes (direct vision) they react 50% faster. However, they cannot act faster if they cannot see a pedestrian in the first place. And, of course, the heavier a vehicle is, the longer the distance it takes to stop it.
Size and weight, when coupled with speeding, is an especially dangerous combination since speed increases crash energy disproportionately. At an impact speed of 20 mph, the risk of a pedestrian dying when hit by a vehicle is 8%; at an impact speed of 30 mph that risk grows to 20%. And at 40 mph, the risk of the person outside the car being killed on impact is 46%. The difference is stark — and important to know as we design our streets, policies and vehicles for safety over speed.
So, selecting and encouraging the use of vehicles in your community’s fleet to be safer — including managing size (height and weight) and speed capacity — is possible and important.
Step 1: Assess your municipal fleets
Municipalities can start focusing on “Safer Vehicles” in their own work by assessing their own municipal fleets. Do you know the person or team that manages your municipal fleet(s)? The first step is to get to know them and talk to them and discuss local safety goals. Where are there synergies in your efforts to make things safer for both municipal staff and members of the community? This is a relatively easy (and non-controversial) yet beneficial way to demonstrate the importance of vehicle safety and taking a Safe System Approach to vehicle safety.
Most municipal fleets have a turnover rate of every 5-10 years or 100,000-125,000 miles, depending on the vehicle type and use (i.e., police vehicles tend to have a faster turnover than specialized vehicles like ambulances). Furthermore, vehicle technology is evolving rapidly and vehicles even as few as five years old have noticeably fewer safety features than newer vehicles. To assess your community’s fleet safety, start by asking some questions:
What are the safety standards currently in my fleet vehicles (e.g., lane assist, blind zone detection)?
What is the age of my municipal fleet? How well has it been maintained? What is the typical replacement schedule?
How have we retrofitted vehicles with additional safety features or after-market products that improve safety? Are these retrofits making things safer (e.g., Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA), mirrors) or less safe (e.g., bug deflectors or bull bars)?
What are the blind zones in the fleet vehicles? How well can we see people, especially small children, in a crosswalk or bike or when making turns?
Is this the right — or only type of — vehicle for the job? Are larger vehicles in your municipal fleet driving roadway design decisions with questionable safety impacts? Could something smaller and/or more energy efficient be more appropriate?
This safety assessment of your fleets is a great process to do in coordination with developing or updating a local road safety/Vision Zero Action Plan. Because there are often a variety of stakeholders already involved in the development of a plan, this can serve as a catalyst to get others involved in developing new channels of safety work for safer vehicles in your community. It also demonstrates that you are undertaking a multidisciplinary response to safety. However, regardless of where you are in the road safety planning process, these assessments can be conducted and would be beneficial at any time.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is assessing the blind zones of vehicles in their own fleet and ten municipal fleets. This study targeted the most common vehicle makes and models within these respective fleets. They found that in 50% of the heavy vehicles they assessed, a driver could not see a child in a crosswalk directly in front of the vehicle. In response, the state is taking action, including hosting events where public and private fleet operators can experience first-hand the differences in vehicle cab design. They plan to use these events as an opportunity to gather feedback on future purchasing criteria. Starting in July 2025, truck safety devices are now required on class 3 or above vehicles, with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more, that is leased or purchased, or operating on contract executed, by the Commonwealth. Currently, these devices include side guards, convex mirrors, crossover mirrors, and back-up cameras.
Source: U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s Blind Zone Calculator
Many communities have adopted tools and technologies to track the condition and maintenance of their vehicles. Some have taken things a step further and instituted driver monitoring to prevent injuries to drivers (e.g., monitoring seatbelt use). In 2017, the Town of Sherborn, MA worked with the University of Massachusetts-Boston to develop a Fleet Replacement Evaluation Tool. They wanted to go beyond the typical criteria of mileage and age for vehicle replacement and consider utilization and obsolescence. This model uses a risk-based assessment to determine if the Town should retain, prepare to replace, or replace vehicles, by prioritizing those whose primary purposes are related to public safety. This both ensures that those vehicles are readily available, operating safely, and are prioritized to have the most currently available safety technologies.
Step 2: Establish safety goals and objectives, then update policies, standards, and associated plans to reflect them
It’s easy for a community to say they prioritize safety but often very hard to achieve. Reflect on the vehicles currently operating in your community beyond just your municipal fleet. What does the mix look like? Is there a dominance of a particular vehicle type? Are those vehicles locally owned or just passing through? Now reflect on what you would like it to be. Would your community benefit with more people walking, biking, or using other forms of micromobility? Would safety improve with more or less of a particular vehicle type? Do you want more people staying in your community for a while instead of just passing through at high speeds?
Reflecting on where you are and where you want to be as a community, then grounding yourself to that commitment and safety priorities is important. It also helps navigate through times where the safest decision may not always be the most popular short-term one.
While the following is not a comprehensive list of all the local policies, standards, and associated plans that could be updated to prioritize safer vehicles, it highlights some of the possibilities:
Municipal fleets
Start by updating your community’s fleet purchasing policies and standards so that they require certain safety features and technologies moving forward. This can also include adding policies to retrofit previously purchased vehicles to improve safety (e.g., installing cameras to address blind zones on transit buses and additional mirrors on school buses). These policies and standards should reflect all the different vehicle types and uses throughout the entire fleet. The various key players should be involved in this decision-making process and reflect all aspects of the vehicles, for example headlights (e.g., daytime running lights) or tires (e.g., tire pressure monitoring systems).
Another important consideration is fleet vehicle maintenance and inspection. Ensuring strong, consistent preventive maintenance can identify potential issues early on and prevent hazardous situations in the future. Adopting these strategies at a municipal level is a great way to lead by example to private fleet operators.
Safety/Vision Zero Action Plan
Safer vehicles are one of the most common missing items from Roadway Safety/Vision Zero plans. Integration of Safer Vehicles into a Safety/Vision Zero Action Plan should establish projects and strategies as well as performance metrics to measure change and track progress (e.g., number of municipal fleet vehicles with enhanced safety technologies added, truck operation restrictions, right-sizing fleets, retrofit fleet). This creates accountability and an evaluation mechanism to assess effectiveness of selected countermeasures and strategies.
Street Design Guides
Street design standards influence how people and vehicles move, including how safely people outside of vehicles can travel. If your community has many large vehicles — such as delivery trucks, buses, or SUVs — local design guides should address that reality. By updating roadway design standards with vehicle safety in mind, communities can reduce conflicts between large vehicles and people walking or biking and create safer streets for everyone. This can include placing stop lines farther back at intersections to give drivers better sightlines, adding truck aprons to slow turning speeds, or setting tighter curb radii that discourage fast, sweeping turns.
Given the fast-growing size and weight of vehicles causing greater safety and road maintenance concerns, some communities are finding ways to encourage safer, less heavy vehicles. For instance, charging residents higher registration and/or parking fees for vehicles that are bigger and heavier may influence their choices. One U.S.-based example is Washington, DC, which has implemented a tiered approach to their vehicle registration fee structure.
Prioritizing better parking options for the kinds of vehicles you want to encourage is another lever of influence. So, rather than just providing standard parking for motor vehicles, communities can update local policies and create and prioritize parking space for safer vehicle types, such as bicycles, cargo bikes, golf-carts and other types of multi-mobility devices. This could be especially helpful in downtowns and around transit centers.
Fleets operating on behalf the community
Communities could extend fleet safety policies to contractors who provide services, such as waste collection, maintenance and construction services, those seeking taxi/limousine licenses, delivery services, and other entities that hold contracts with the city. For example, Somerville, MA has a local ordinance to Safeguard Vulnerable Road Users, which requires vehicle inspections for those seeking businesses with the city to install side guards, blind spot countermeasures, and warning signals/signage in order to reduce the risk of crashes involving people cycling and walking.
New York City has developed a Safe Fleet Transition Plan (SFTP) for both city and private fleets that identifies safety investments and technologies as standard in their fleet vehicles. These respective plans were supported by case studies and various communications materials to inform both city staff and the public about the changes. The SFTP is periodically updated to reflect progress toward change, evolving safety technologies, and lessons learned.
The 2024 Northwest Ohio Transportation Safety Action Plan, which covers four counties, integrates several safer vehicle priorities. Due to community development projects in the area and the increase of freight traffic, this plan included the strategy of restricting heavy vehicle access in residential or non-commercial areas to prevent cut through traffic. Additional measures focus on increasing the safety of vehicles owned or operated by, or on behalf of, government jurisdictions. These include fitting large vehicles with side guards, ISA or speed regulators, and additional integrated safety technology measures on large vehicles. To further assess and advance Safer Vehicle strategies in its fleet, the City of Toledo, in coordination with Lucas County, applied for FY 2025 Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) demonstration funds.
Step 3: Change, retrofit, and right-size municipal fleets
Vehicle technologies and designs have evolved greatly over time. The following are ways to leverage newer safety technologies and designs to improve the safety of your fleets:
Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA): Reducing vehicle speed is one of the most effective ways to make our roadways safer. There is tremendous opportunity to take a proactive approach to safety and install ISA in all appropriate fleet vehicles. Research conducted in New York City found a 64% reduction in time spent speeding more than 11 mph over the posted speed limit for vehicles with ISA; there were 23 vehicle types over 19 agencies within the study.
Speed governors: A cousin to ISA, this technology limits the maximum speed a vehicle can reach. There are electric or mechanical versions of this technology and advanced models can adjust the maximum speed based on road conditions or requirements.
Side guards: Source: U.S. DOT Volpe Center
Also known as side underride guards or lateral protective devices, these prevent people walking or bicycling from being pulled under a large truck in the event of a side impact. Following a national mandate for side guards in the United Kingdom, there was a 61% drop in cyclist fatalities and a 20% drop in pedestrian fatalities in crashes involving trucks. Side guards can also improve fuel efficiency due to their aerodynamic advantages. Communities in the U.S. have adopted these technologies, ranging from bigger cities such as Denver, San Francisco and Seattle, to mid-size communities such as Newton, MA to smaller communities, such as Mount Rainier, MD, with a population of just over 8,000. Notably, Mount Rainier was able to add truck side guards on its municipal fleet with the help of a 2023 SS4A grant.
Fleet vehicle rightsizing: Since large trucks are more dangerous in crashes, especially involving people outside of vehicles, it makes sense to downsize large vehicles to not only improve safety, but maneuverability too. This is particularly notable for emergency response vehicles, where better maneuverability may result in improved response times in dense urban environments.
Fleet vehicle makeup: And perhaps a smaller, safer alternative is more appropriate for some tasks. Some police departments and emergency response providers are embracing the use of bicycles in their fleets due to their ability to navigate areas of high pedestrian volumes more easily (e.g., parks). For example, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) representing the greater Boston area has created a framework for municipalities to utilize e-cargo bikes to transition delivery services.
Blind zones: As the size of the vehicles on our roads has grown, so has the blind zones of those vehicles. The higher hoods of these vehicles make it more challenging to see people in front of them and the larger side mirrors further obstruct views in the front corners. Research has found that direct vision of a person (seeing with your own eyes) walking results in a 50% faster response time than seeing a person walking through indirect vision (seeing them through a mirror of screen). Several other manufacturers have models with improved direct vision features, such as lowering the cab height, increasing window sizes, and changes to the hood. Blind zones can also be addressed by camera technologies, such as 360 surround view cameras to capture a bird eye view of the surroundings and side view cameras to show the vehicles sides. These technologies are most utilized with buses.
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS): These various systems range from sending alerts and warnings to the driver (e.g., blind zone monitoring, driver drowsiness detection, forward collision warning, lane departure warning) to temporarily assuming some controls (e.g., automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane centering, rear automatic braking). While the effectiveness of each of these individual features vary, overall vehicles with ADAS technologies experience lower crash rates in police reported crashes. Since 2017, New York City has added over 100,000 safety enhancements to their fleet vehicles, including pedestrian safety alerts, enhanced automatic emergency, backup sensors and lane departure warnings.
Telematics: Telematics is like a “smart tracker” for vehicles that collects information on things such as speed, braking, location, and engine health. Cities and fleets use this data to improve safety by spotting risky driving behaviors, making sure vehicles are well-maintained, and helping drivers stay within speed limits or avoid crashes. It can also be utilized to improve emergency response times. Municipalities using telematics can shift from reactive maintenance to proactive safety strategies. By monitoring vehicle operations and driver behavior in real time, cities can coach drivers, enforce safe habits, reduce crash risk, and enhance maintenance — all proven methods to enhance safety and efficiency.
Enhancing Conspicuity: While there are federal guidelines requiring reflective tape on vehicles over 10,000 lbs, this requirement does not apply to vehicles under this size. Research indicates that there are significant benefits associated with including this low cost enhancement to prevent crashes and serious injuries, particularly at dusk and at night. Communities and private companies have proactively installed this technology on smaller vehicles due to its safety benefits.
Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, set out to develop the safest ambulances in America. This was the first time the agency had ever purchased a custom ambulance, but they felt they needed to do more to protect their providers and those they serve. They started with exploring chassis options and learning from other EMS providers that had used that type of design. From there, they focused on equipment storage, location placement and seating for the provider. This provided both easier access to supplies and safety benefits for the provider since they were now able to be belted into a seat. Enhancements to the exterior conspicuity helps improve the visibility of the ambulance overall and decreases risk of a crash. This community was willing to research design, work with the manufacturer, and embrace change in their vehicle design to improve safety.
Source: Cranberry Township EMS
Step 4: Engage partners and gain buy-in
Involving municipal fleet operators is important. They should be able to test out new vehicles and technologies, as well as be involved in the decision-making process about changes, while keeping the emphasis on safety helps promote a safety culture and utilization of the new tools. You could also offer to include operators of private fleets in this process so they can learn and adapt along with you. This engagement can extend beyond the vehicles themselves and be tied to changes happening in the built environment to improve safety. This is also a great way to identify your safety champions to further advance utilization and safety culture.
The leading cause of death for solid waste collection workers is being struck or run over by their own truck while on the job. Members of this industry, including the National Waste and Recycling Association and the Solid Waste Association of North America, have been particularly interested in improving the safety of workers and the safety of the vehicles they operate. For example, the waste management company Republic Services is integrating vehicles into their fleets that have 360-degree external cameras, lane departure sensors, and a direct vision cab design to reduce blind zones. When the first operators began piloting these new vehicles, some drivers were hesitant, but quickly found it easier to operate their vehicles and were excited about the improved safety benefits. Soon other operators in the fleet were eager to switch to these new vehicles based on the feedback from their peers about the ease of use and enhanced safety advantages.
Source: Republic Services
Step 5: Continuously refine and improve
Due to the rapid evolution of new vehicle features, technologies, and designs, communities and states must be agile in the way they make vehicle safety decisions and update those decision-making processes to reflect safety priorities.
A community may decide to start small, perhaps only addressing vehicles within a single agency/departmental fleet, then over time refining and applying that process to all vehicles in the larger community fleet.
Or maybe data indicates a certain crash trend where a certain vehicle type needs to be prioritized for attention, such as side-underride crashes injuring people cycling. In this case, your community could focus on installing side guards on fleet vehicles over a certain size/weight and requiring those doing business with the city to do the same.
The first New York City Vision Zero Action Plan, published in 2014, recognized that commercial vehicles, buses, taxis, and trucks were overrepresented in crashes where pedestrians are severely injured or killed. They developed a robust set of recommendations for Safer Vehicles in their plan to advance the goal of zero road fatalities. Since that time, the City has been a national leader in investing in fleet and other vehicle safety, continually revising and improving upon their impressive early efforts.
Initial efforts included launching an annual fleet safety forum, training their fleet operators across 50 different agencies, and rolling out truck side guards on over 85% of the City fleet. Next, they instituted the first Safe Fleet Transition Plan (which was revised and updated four years later). Starting in 2019, the City started right-sizing their municipal fleet and using telematics to help guide those decisions. In 2022, the City piloted ISA, while the use of telematics data was expanded to better understand occurrence of collisions, optimize driver safety training, evaluate roadway conditions, and assess street improvements. NYC’s efforts have been widely recognized with various road safety awards, but most notably with the reduction of fatalities and serious injuries of those traveling throughout the City.
Final Thoughts
Incorporating Safer Vehicles more fully into your communities’ Safe Systems Approach provides you another powerful, proactive set of tools to prevent traffic fatalities and serious injuries. You can start by adding a Safer Vehicles component to your Vision Zero or road safety plan. Consider incorporating the many examples shared here and being used in communities across the country, ranging from adding safety features, such as ISA, ADAS and side guards to your municipal fleet, to encouraging similar features in contractors’ fleets. And because there is ongoing turnover in these fleets, making safety improvements does not need to take forever or be an expensive proposition. The good news is there are a lot of options for improving vehicle safety, it just needs the energy and commitment to start somewhere.
Progress toward Vision Zero depends on all five elements of the Safe System Approach — including Safer Vehicles — which your community can and does have influence over. Toole Design and Vision Zero Network are ready to support local leaders in raising the bar for safety. This path forward doesn’t require waiting for federal mandates; it begins with local communities adding Safer Vehicles actions to their Vision Zero plans and updating design guides and procurement policies to prioritize safety — each a step closer to Vision Zero.
