[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 38 (Friday, March 6, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E314]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              INTRODUCTION OF THE VISION ZERO ACT OF 2015

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                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 6, 2015

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, our communities need to be safer. More 
than 33,000 Americans die on our roadways each year, yet this is 
accepted as inevitability. Even more concerning, fatalities of our most 
vulnerable road users--pedestrians and bicyclists--make up a growing 
share of those deaths, with pedestrian fatalities increasing 16% from 
2009 to 2014. People who die on our streets are disproportionally 
children, seniors, and people from low income or minority communities.
  Communities across the country are recognizing that there is only one 
number of acceptable deaths on our streets: zero. ``Vision Zero'' is 
the goal of eliminating all transportation-related fatalities, 
including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, motorists and 
passengers. Cities from New York to San Diego are implementing 
interagency Vision Zero plans connecting engineering, education, and 
enforcement, to reach the goal of ending transportation deaths.
  Congress should encourage this innovative approach to transportation 
safety, and today I'm pleased to introduce the Vision Zero Act of 2015 
with my colleague, Representative Buchanan. This bill provides local 
communities of all sizes with funding and best practices to plan and 
implement a Vision Zero framework. We should no longer accept bicycle 
and pedestrian fatalities as harsh reality, and this bill gives us the 
tools to reverse this trend.

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