Vehicle Related Fatalities/Injuries
Target
Reduce crash-related fatalities and serious injuries by 5% over the next three years.
Analysis
An analysis of 376 fatal and severe injury crashes from 2012 to 2016 shows that the top three causes of crashes in Durham County are speeding, distraction, and impairment.
Speeding is a factor in 28% of fatal and severe injury crashes. The Transportation Department understands that slowing automobile speed on our roadways is vital to increasing the safety of all roadway users. Currently, many of our roads allow drivers to comfortably drive at speeds well above the posted speed limit. Enforcement is not a viable long-term solution to speeding; and relying primarily on strategic enforcement to reduce speed is a cause for concern due to Durham’s large proportion of historically-marginalized groups. The Transportation Department wishes to employ proven engineering safety countermeasures to reduce speeds on Durham’s roadways. Reducing roadway speed will increase both the perceived and actual safety of all roadway users.
Next Steps
- Develop a data-driven Vision Zero Action Plan
- Develop a data-driven speed management program
- Identify a source of funding to implement traffic calming and speed management projects
- Collaborate with North Carolina Department of Transportation to analyze and make safety improvements to 5-10 high-crash locations a year
- Work with Durham Police Department on addressing distracted and impaired driving
Status Indicators: 
On Target | 
Close to Target | 
Needs Improvement | Target Pending