As the new school year kicks off in Maryland, DC and Virginia, streets throughout our area are getting busier.
- Children walking or bicycling to class
- School buses making frequent stops
- Newly licensed teen driver’s
The Problem
Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that 104 people died in school-transportation-related crashes in 2022 in the United States. From 2013 to 2022 more than 1,000 people died in school-transportation-related crashes, and 198 of those were children aged 18 and younger.
Of those children killed:
- 40% were occupants of other vehicles
- 38% were pedestrians
- 18% were occupants of school transportation vehicles
- 3% were bicyclists
- 1% were using personal devices such as skateboards, scooters and wheelchairs
Source: New NHTSA data
Some of the highly publicized accidents involved school buses. In 2023, school bus-related crashes killed 128 people nationwide, up 23% compared to the 104 deaths in 2022, according to National Safety Council (NSC) tabulations of data from the NHTSA.
Of the people injured in school bus-related crashes from 2014 to 2023, approximately 34% were school bus passengers, 9% were school bus drivers, and 52% were occupants of other vehicles. The remainder were pedestrians, pedalcyclists, and other or unknown.
Source: NSC Injury Facts
According to the 2024 Virginia Crash Facts report, crashes involving school buses reveal vital safety trends. Out of 584 reported school bus crashes last year:
- 173 resulted in injuries—though thankfully, there were zero fatalities
- 157 were school bus passengers, with children aged 10-14 being the most affected group (64 injuries)
Vision Zero Program
Fortunately, Maryland, DC and Virginia have all implemented their own versions of the international program known as Vision Zero.
Begun in the 1990’s, this transportation safety strategy is aimed at eliminating traffic fatalities and severe injuries. The approach is proactive, viewing traffic deaths as preventable, rather than inevitable. The goal is to prioritize the safety of all road users by designing transportation systems that account for human error and vulnerability, to ensure that if mistakes do happen, the result is not death or serious injury.
This approach is a new vision for safety.
| Traditional Approach | vs. | Vision Zero |
|---|---|---|
| Traffic deaths are inevitable | vs. | Traffic deaths are preventable |
| Perfect human behavior | vs. | Integrate human failing in approach |
| Prevent collisions | vs. | Prevent fatal and severe crashes |
| Individual responsibility | vs. | Systems approach |
| Saving lives is expensive | vs. | Saving lives is not expensive |
Vision Zero utilizes a Safe System Approach, which designs a road system to account for human mistakes and minimize the impact of crashes. Achieving the desired results means implementing comprehensive strategies across the five “E’s:”
- Engineering – Infrastructure design and roadway improvements to reduce speed, increase visibility, and separate different modes of transportation. Examples include curb extensions, pedestrian islands, bike lanes, and roundabouts.
- Enforcement – Targeted police enforcement and automated speed cameras in high crash locations aimed to deter dangerous behaviors like speeding, distraction, and impairment.
- Education – Safety campaigns and training to promote safe walking, biking, driving, and public transit use. Education raises awareness of key issues and risky behaviors.
- Engagement – Partnering with community groups and stakeholders can promote Vision Zero and gather input on priorities and solutions. Engagement ensures community ownership.
- Evaluation – Continuous data analysis and assessment of existing conditions, progress on actions, and impact of improvements enable an evidence-based approach.
Vision Zero focuses on three main areas:
- Safe speed limits
- Safe street design
- Safe speed technology
Safe Speed Limits
Managing speeds is the number one priority. Higher speed increases kinetic energy, which leads to more severe crash impacts, resulting in more injuries and fatalities. The human body can only tolerate so much force in a crash. Higher speeds are greater risks for people with lower physical tolerance, such as the young and elderly.
Impact of Car Crash on Human Body
The likelihood of death for people walking if hit at these speeds:
- 20 MPH, 8%
- 30 MPH, 20%
- 40 MPH, 46%
Source: AAA Foundation, Tefft, B.C. (2011)
Other Effects of Higher Speeds
- Worsening a driver’s reaction time and braking distance, making it harder to respond quickly to risks.
- Limiting a driver’s field of vision, reducing the ability to perceive and react to changes in the driving environment.
- Increasing risks exponentially as vehicle size and weights increase, compounding the force of impact during crashes.
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Pedestrian Safety
Safe Street Design
Previously, the focus of the U.S. transportation system was to maximize speedy movement of vehicles rather than safe movement of people. This disproportionately affects low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, which are overburdened with high traffic roads and limited sidewalks and other safety features. The focus has been moving vehicles efficiently to minimize congestion. Vision Zero focuses on moving people safely. Small design changes near schools can make a big difference, for example:
- Narrowing travel lanes, which encourages slower driving speeds
- Reducing the number of travel lanes, possibly replaced by dedicated left-turn pockets and/or bike lanes
- Buffered or protected bike lanes, which are physically separated from travel lanes with posts, planters, etc.
- Green-painted “crossbikes” (essentially crosswalks for bicyclists)
- Adding high-visibility painted crosswalks
- Lowering posted speed limits (from 30/25 to 20 mph)
- Adding daylighting at intersections
Example: Installing left-turn calming speed bumps at an intersection can reduce drivers’ speeds when making a turn, as well as improving their visibility of pedestrians crossing the street. Adding the middle bump to the crosswalk can lower the speed of left turning vehicles by changing the trajectory of turn.
Source: National Roadway Safety Strategy, USDOT
Safe Speed Technology
Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) is a safety technology that alerts drivers when they exceed specific speeds. Already in use and proven to improve safety in other nations, ISA is a prime example of a Safe System Approach that manages speeds at a fundamental level, reducing the likelihood and severity of speed-related crashes, injuries and deaths. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommends ISA in all vehicles, as is required in the European Union.
Speed safety cameras – when well designed, operated and monitored – can deter high speeds, reduce crashes and lessen the severity of injuries when crashes do occur. They are widely used internationally and in more than 240 U.S. communities, resulting in reductions of roadway injuries and fatalities ranging from 20% to 37%.
Coordinate signal timing, optimize safer speeds – use of retimed signals on a major commercial corridor to improve traffic flow and enhance safety, particularly for the many walking and biking trips. Traffic signals were timed at a steady speed of 13 mph, reducing stop-and-go movements for people biking and improving safety for all street users, while also improving overall travel times during peak hours.
Increase speed limit signage – increase the density of speed limit signs from a frequency of every 1 to 1.5 miles in each direction to a new standard of every quarter mile in each direction. These low-cost, low-effort changes resulted in reductions in crashes and in high-end speeding.
Speed feedback signs – dynamic display speeds of approaching vehicles and/or display messages such as “Reduce Speed” when a driver exceeds a certain speed. Analysis shows small but valuable decreases in speeds.
Vision Zero Maryland
MCDOT’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program works to encourage and enable children to walk and bike to school safely through education, outreach and building safe infrastructure around schools. The program offers activities and events that focus on pedestrian and bicycle safety. The program offers free resources to get schools, parents and community groups started. SRTS programs are federally funded to support efforts by community members and governments to enable and encourage children to safely walk, roll, or bicycle to school. Federal funds allocated to this program are reimbursable and available for infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects that benefit elementary and middle school children.
Source: Maryland Center for School Safety
The main purpose of the program is:
- To enable and encourage children, including those with disabilities, to walk, roll, and bicycle to school
- To make bicycling, walking, and rolling to school a safer more appealing transportation alternative, thereby encouraging an active lifestyle
- To facilitate the planning, development, and implementation of projects that will improve school safety and reduce traffic, fuel consumption, and pollution in the vicinity of school
The program is administered by the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA). Eligible sponsors may apply for funding to support infrastructure and non-infrastructure activities that encourage children to safely walk, bicycle or roll to school. Federal funds allocated to this program must benefit elementary and middle school children in grades K-8 and must have a 20% cash match contribution.
For example, in 2024, Montgomery County used small-scale interventions and expanded its efforts across high-injury network (HIN) corridors by launching 127 safety projects including 29 new bikeways and nearly seven miles of new sidewalks. These features were installed at targeted intersections:
- Traffic signals
- Pedestrian hybrid beacons
- New bikeways
- New sidewalks
Together, these targeted improvements contributed to a 28% reduction in serious and fatal crashes on HIN corridors—roads that make up just 3% of the county’s network but account for 41% of severe crashes—compared to pre-COVID years. This success proves that scaling up focused, data-driven safety interventions can lead to sustained improvements, saving lives and reducing crashes over time. Montgomery County’s Vision Zero initiative exemplifies how a strategic, proactive approach can have a significant, long-term impact on road safety.
Source: Montgomery County Annual Report
More information available at the Maryland Center for School Safety.
Vision Zero Virginia
Vision Zero Virginia is a program focused on eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by adopting a proactive, system-level approach to traffic safety. It recognizes that traffic deaths and severe injuries are preventable and aims to create a safe transportation system for all, regardless of how people make mistakes.
Every school day, nearly one million Virginia students are transported to and from school, field trips, athletic events and other school-related activities on the more than 15,000 school buses operated by the Commonwealth’s school divisions. The safety of these students is a responsibility shared by school bus drivers, school divisions, parents, the Virginia Department of Education, and the Virginia Department of Transportation. Most counties in Virginia have a low or below-average fatality concentration level. However, areas surrounding Richmond, Virginia Beach, Charlottesville, and Northern Virginia have above average and high fatality concentration levels.
Example – Arlington, VA
After a public hearing, the Arlington County Board adopted its first five-year Vision Zero Action Plan in May 2021. This decision set a roadmap for the effort to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries in the county by 2030. Arlington installed quick, tactical on-street safety improvements such as centerline hardening using flexible posts and mini speed humps.
As a result, the rate of vehicles crossing the centerline dropped from 38% to 5% and the percentage of drivers turning at less than 10 mph rose from 10% to 26%.
In the first year of the Vision Zero initiative, Arlington had four fatal and 61 severe crashes. The overall number of collisions was lower than in previous years. However, the county attributes the overall crash reduction to reduced traffic levels during the pandemic. The county tracks progress by analyzing factors involved in severe crashes, such as speed, alcohol impairment, and collisions involving pedestrians and bicyclists.
Some accomplishments from the first year include:
- Completing 36 small-scale safety projects
- Analyzing 69 high-crash locations
- Facilitating 55 transportation safety classes and events
- Coordinating with VDOT to identify more than 20 safety fixes
- Approving speed cameras in school and work zones
In the second year, the number of collisions in Arlington decreased from 65 to 54. While the number of fatalities remained the same, the number of severe crashes went down to 49.
Download the printable Pedestrian and School Bus Safety Tip Card.
Vision Zero DC
The District of Columbia and Mayor Muriel Bowser launched Vision Zero in 2014 to inspire and transform DC’s roadway safety efforts and set sights on a goal of zero fatalities or serious injuries on DC streets. Since then, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has shifted to designing streets that are safe for everyone, working closely with community members to identify problems and build solutions.
Launched in 2005, the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program receives federal and local funds to encourage and facilitate active transportation for school children. In 2022, the Council of the District of Columbia passed the Safe Streets for Students Amendment Act with the goal to improve transportation safety infrastructure around schools, giving the SRTS team additional funding and direction towards improving school areas in DC.
This year, as part of the Annual Safety Program (ASAP), DDOT will rapidly deploy multi-modal safety improvements at multiple locations across DC. They include pedestrian safety improvements, Highway Safety Improvement Program locations, pedestrian flashers, and driver feedback signs.
DC allows residents to submit a Traffic Safety Input request (TSI) via 311. These requests will be prioritized based on objective factors such as roadway characteristics, crash patterns, equity, proximity to Vision Zero High Injury Network corridors, and locations utilized by vulnerable road users such as schools, Metrorail stations, and bus stops.
The TSI 311 service can be used to report issues such as:
- Traffic safety issues around schools
- Safety concerns for pedestrians, people biking, or taking transit
- Unmarked or marked crosswalks that appear unsafe (maintenance for existing markings should be put in under the 311 request, Roadway Striping / Markings)
- Concerns about speeding drivers or speed limits in general (Note: DDOT’s policy on speed limits is 20 MPH for local roads and may vary for arterial and collector roadways)
As one of the leading agencies, the DDOT has rapidly deployed multi-modal safety improvements at multiple locations across DC. Installed safety projects and devices include:
- Leading pedestrian intervals
- Left-turn traffic calming
- Curb extension
- HAWK signals
- No turn on red
- Bus priority projects
- Dual turn lane mitigation
- Automated traffic enforcement
- Bike lanes and trails
Visit Vision Zero DC to learn more about these safety interventions.
Conclusion
Whether your child walks, rides, rolls, or takes the bus to school, safely moving children to and from school is a number one parental concern.
School zones are high-risk, high-responsibility environments. According to the National Safety Council, children are among the most vulnerable pedestrians — and most at risk during pick-up/drop-off times. Meanwhile, data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that most school-age pedestrian fatalities occur between 6 to 8 a.m. and 3 to 4 p.m. — right when school traffic peaks. Vision Zero brings schools a new lens: instead of just enforcing rules, design systems where the consequences of mistakes are less severe.
If your child gets hurt while traveling to or from school or is involved in a school bus accident, we can help. We have been representing families like yours for more than 50 years. Please contact us for a free case evaluation.
