How Traffic Safety Software is Helping Cities Achieve Vision Zero

See how AI traffic safety software helps cities reach Vision Zero by spotting risks, guiding fixes, and measuring life-saving results.

Vision Zero is a global initiative with a clear and ambitious goal: to eliminate all traffic deaths and severe injuries. In the U.S., this goal becomes more urgent every year—nearly 43,000 people lost their lives in traffic crashes in 2021, the highest number since 2005. Under the Vision Zero philosophy, every traffic fatality is deemed unacceptable and preventable, rejecting the notion that crashes are simply unavoidable.

Rather than putting the responsibility solely on individual drivers, Vision Zero places the emphasis on system designers. This approach focuses on creating safer street designs, lowering speed limits, and implementing data-driven interventions—all of which help ensure that human errors don’t result in deadly consequences. According to the Vision Zero Network, this strategy aims to “eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries while increasing safe, healthy, and equitable mobility for everyone.”

From Ideal to Implementation: The Role of Data

At Urban SDK, we’ve witnessed how data and technology are turning the lofty goal of Vision Zero into a practical and actionable plan. Cities are increasingly utilizing traffic safety software that leverages advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to focus their safety efforts. Instead of waiting to respond to crashes after they occur, agencies can adopt a proactive, evidence-based approach to planning.

Many platforms, including Urban SDK, analyze extensive traffic datasets-such as crash histories, vehicle speeds, traffic volumes, and roadway characteristics-to produce risk scores for different road segments. Our Collision Index compiles years of data that provides a clear picture of which streets are most dangerous. This creates a citywide risk map that quickly highlights high-risk areas, allowing officials to prioritize safety improvements effectively.

Measuring Impact and Refining Strategies

One of the most significant advantages of traffic safety analytics is the ability to measure progress towards Vision Zero. Planners can monitor changes in average speeds, crash counts, and indicators of near misses before and after safety interventions.

For instance, in Camas, WA, officials utilized an analytics platform to evaluate whether new speed humps and increased patrols reduced the local risk score. This created a feedback loop—if an intervention was effective, they could expand it; if not, they could pivot to other measures more quickly.

This data-driven evaluation ensures that limited budgets are allocated to solutions that truly save lives, rather than to initiatives with uncertain outcomes.

Aligning Stakeholders and Unlocking Funding

Vision Zero is not only about engineering safer roads; it's also about effective communication and collaboration. Traffic safety software plays a crucial role in aligning stakeholders by generating easy-to-understand maps and reports that communicate needs and results to the public, policymakers, and funding agencies.

For example, agencies can present a heat map illustrating clusters of speeding violations or high-crash intersections, clearly showing why certain projects—like a road diet or new signal installation-should be prioritized.

This data-driven rationale is also invaluable when seeking competitive grants. The U.S. federal Safe Streets and Roads for All program encourages cities to develop comprehensive, data-informed safety action plans. Having a platform which provides precise evidence such as risk scores and frequent speed violations, strengthens grant applications and helps secure funding for essential safety improvements.

Real-World Success Stories

The City of Westminster, Colorado, adopted a Vision Zero pledge in 2021 and has since teamed up with an AI-based traffic management platform to accelerate its progress. By combining real-time speed data with historical crash maps, Westminster’s team can quickly identify locations where excessive speeding aligns with frequent accidents.

This capability allows them to implement traffic calming measures where they'll be most effective and respond to community safety complaints within days instead of weeks.

Westminster isn’t alone. Many Vision Zero cities across the U.S.—from large metropolitan areas like New York and Seattle to smaller communities—are using risk-based analytics to guide interventions such as redesigned intersections, protected bike lanes, and focused enforcement. These evidence-based strategies not only enhance safety but also foster public trust in the processes.

From Vision to Reality

As demonstrated by our partners, risk-based analytics help shift agencies away from scattered fixes towards systematic, goal-oriented actions. The outcome? Quicker progress toward safer streets for everyone.

At Urban SDK, our mission is to equip cities with the tools needed to make life-saving decisions. By merging years of roadway data with real-time analytics and AI-driven insights, we're helping transportation teams nationwide turn Vision Zero from a noble ideal into a tangible reality.

If your community is ready to take the next step towards safer streets, schedule a demo with Urban SDK and discover how data-driven traffic safety planning can help eliminate traffic fatalities and make every journey safer.