Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Kea Wilson

Vision Zero Cities: Why Words Matter to Crash Victims

Cars kill — but the language used in ads and newspapers always hurts.

Lauren Pine, a retired registered nurse, cyclist, and member of Families for Safe Streets, experienced the horrors of traffic violence first hand when a dump truck struck her and dragged her down the street in 2017.

Pine woke up in the hospital after a three-day medically induced coma and found her left leg had been amputated.
The headlines and television coverage of the incident recounted the story as “truck struck cyclist going the wrong way,” Pine said. But Pine saw a video of the crash which showed she was in the crosswalk with the light and the driver turned into her.

“The thought that I could have been solely responsible was overwhelming,” she said during a November Transportation Alternatives forum during last month's Vision Zero Cities conference. “I found strength from my hospital bed, protested, and had the police report changed.”

Words matter especially when the media and governments are constantly suggesting that car drivers and pedestrians have equal responsibility for maintaining safety on the road. That’s why advocates have picked apart misleading public service campaigns that nag cyclists to wear reflective gear and use headlights while letting drivers off the hook for dangerous behavior.

“There's really an opportunity to rebrand at all levels at a point to being truly reflective of the realities that highlight both the challenges and the successes that everybody outside of a car faces,” said Tom Flood, a principal at Rovélo Creative in Toronto and a leading voice in rebranding driving away from glamorous images of high-speed machines and more towards the reality of thousands of dead pedestrians every year. “Because in this space we really don't need bravado, we just need things framed in position properly.”

Advocacy groups are also looking at how they can communicate more effectively that improving street safety is better for all road users instead of falling back on transportation jargon. John Yi, executive director of Los Angeles Walks, explained that his organizers don’t even mention Vision Zero since the general public doesn’t understand what it really means.

“I rarely bring it up in our community organizing work, because, for our community, it is not about this larger global policy, it's about basic city services,” Yi said. “Has illegal dumping been cleared on the sidewalk so I can walk? Is the bus service coming on time so I can actually take the bus and get to where I need to go?”

Ads can remind drivers to pay better attention to the road and avoid drinking or texting, but they must be accompanied by concrete policies that make streets safer like reducing the speed limit, reprograming traffic lights to extend crosswalk times, and adding separated bike lanes.

“Pro Vision Zero messaging alone won't end our national traffic crisis — because at the end of the day, we need engineering, evaluation, engagement, and anti-racist enforcement much more than we need education,” said Streetsblog’s Kea Wilson.

TransAlt has disabled embeds, so click here to watch the entire webinar.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Tuesday’s Sprawling Headlines

Sprawl seems to be having a moment, but it remains a very shortsighted and environmentally disastrous way to solve the housing crisis.

July 1, 2025

Does Constant Driving Really Make Our Country Richer?

A new study reveals that constant driving is making America less productive and prosperous — and getting people on other modes could help right the ship.

July 1, 2025

‘We’re Not Copenhagen’ Is No Excuse Not to Build a Great Biking And Walking City

A team of researchers identified eight under-the-radar cities leading the local active transportation revolution — and a menu of strategies that other communities can and should steal.

June 30, 2025

Monday’s Headlines, Ranked

New reports rank the best cities for biking and the best complete streets policies. Plus, the robotaxi wars have begun.

June 30, 2025

Washington State Is About To Have the First Pro-‘Woonerf’ Law in America

Washington state is making it legal for cities to have people-centered streets in a first-in-the-nation law.

June 30, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Are Doomed

Philadelphia transit is falling off the fiscal cliff, with other major cities not far behind. And the effects of service cuts on their economies could be brutal.

June 27, 2025
See all posts