Vision Zero collection Infographics

Safe Mobility infographic series

Road safety measures have a broad impact on urban communities, with a wide range of benefits ranging from environmental to health. Parachute has created these infographics to explore the intersections among equity, health and wellbeing and the environment and their connections to road safety.  

We encourage our road safety partners to use these infographics to start a dialogue with your colleges and politicians to change the way we think about road safety. 

This Safe Mobility infographic series won Gold in the Print category of the 2024 International Safety Media Awards.

Are you thinking about…equity?

We need to stop thinking that roads are infrastructure for drivers and their vehicles when this infrastructure should be serving the whole population. These spaces should be designed for everyone’s transportation, safety and recreational needs.

…my safety?

Higher-income neighbourhoods get a disproportionate amount of road safety interventions, such as more speed humps, exacerbating existing inequities between wealthy and lower-income neighbourhoods. Let data, not complaints, drive your intervention budget decisions.

…how we get to school?

Across Canada, our roads are designed for the safety and convenience of cars and their occupants. We need to consider other road users — school children, older adults, people with disabilities and everyone who walks, cycles or wheels to move around our communities.

…how we can play safely in our community?

Often the voices of those disproportionately impacted aren’t heard when making road safety decisions. By including the diverse voices of the community at the table, program planners, policy makers and community organizers may be able to create a more equitable distribution of infrastructure-based resources.

…how I get to work?

For some populations or communities, active or public transit may be the less safe or accessible option, based on structural inequities in the built environment, as well as gender- based, socio-economic, geographic or cultural barriers. Improving safety and access to active and public transit in these communities improve the health and safety of historically disenfranchised communities.

Are you thinking about…health and wellbeing?

Road safety is a major public health concern in Canada. More than 1,700 people lose their lives to road crashes annually and more than 23,000 people require hospitalization for their injuries.

Improving road safety improves our physical and mental health. Limited access to public transit, green spaces and geographic barriers to necessities such as food, housing and health care also have negative impacts on largely low-income or historically disenfranchised communities.

…how I can play safely and breathe clean air in my neighbourhood?

In Canada, the transportation sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and 53 per cent of transport emissions come from cars and light trucks.2 Increases in active and multi-modal transportation reduces the risk of collisions and can reduce air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and noise pollution, helping to create healthier, more vibrant communities.

…how we can walk safely to our pharmacy?

Changing our environments to encourage walking, biking or wheeling as transportation positively impacts physical activity levels and mental health as well as lowers risk for chronic disease and injury.

…the accessibility of public transit in in my neighbourhood?

By ensuring that active transportation and public transportation are safer, faster and more convenient than driving, urban areas can improve the health and wellbeing of their cities.

…how I can bike safely to work?

Our roads are safer for everyone when we reduce and slow down motor vehicle traffic by improving access to public transit, creating separated bike lanes and building walkable, more connected neighbourhoods. These changes will create an environment that makes it easier for people in Canada to safely get active.

Are you thinking about…the environment?

Road safety should not be approached as a standalone issue but as an integrated component of many policy agendas. Enabling safe and sustainable mobility plays an important role in mitigating the impact of climate change.

Climate change, and activities causing increased greenhouse gas emissions, will continue to threaten the lives and livelihoods of Canadians at increasingly catastrophic and alarming rates. In 2020, the Canadian transportation sector accounted for one-quarter of national greenhouse gas emissions.

…how can I reduce my vehicle’s emissions?

Slow down! Speed reduction improves road safety and reduces vehicle emissions. Traffic calming measures that enforce these limits such as speed bumps, narrowing lanes, roundabouts and other features are key to prompt drivers to adjust their driving speeds.

…how I get to the gym safely?

Municipal transportation systems that prioritize active transportation (e.g., walking, cycling, scootering, skateboarding), public transit and auto sharing to reduce solo car rides are key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increase road safety.

…how we can walk to get our groceries safely?

Access to equitable, safe and climate- friendly multi-modal transportation systems provide people with both the options and the encouragement to use active modes of travel such as walking and biking that do not emit greenhouse gas.

…my health and wellbeing?

Adoption of zero-emission vehicles is a key step to decarbonizing the transportation sector. Reducing green house gas emissions is necessary to slow the health impacts of climate change, such as greater risk of respiratory and cardiovascular problems, injuries and deaths from extreme weather events and effects on mental health.

Download a printable 28 cm x 43 cm (11” x 17”) PDF in poster format that combines the information from the Equity, Environment, and Health and Wellness infographics.

Using data to drive road system decisions

You need data to:

• develop evidence-based, strategic and targeted interventions
• make informed, equitable decisions
• evaluate quality and effectivenessof interventions
• gain buy-in from funders and other key stakeholders (e.g., policymakers)
• humanize the problem

Data help identify

• high-risk collision areas (e.g., intersections)
• how populations are affected differently (e.g., pedestrians, low-income communities, seniors, people with disabilities, indigenous communities)
• frequency of risky driving behaviours (e.g., speeding, distracted driving, impaired driving)

To achieve zero serious injuries and deaths on our roads, Vision Zero plans should include strategies to collect and analyze data on a variety of indicators. These may include data on:

Linking data tells a more complete story. Data sharing opportunities:

Data gaps and solutions

As road safety advocates we need to co-ordinate our efforts to address the gaps in our data and continue to look for new and innovative ways to collect and use road safety data.

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Saving lives beyond 2020

How the world can reduce motor-vehicle deaths by 50% by 2030

From Saving Lives Beyond 2020: The Next Steps: Recommendations of the Academic Expert Group for the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety

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Collision avoidance technologies

Positive and negative driving effects associated with common collision avoidance technologies.

Vision Zero calls for safer car designs and technologies to improve road safety. Collision avoidance systems are a technology that can help drivers to avoid hazards; but their effectiveness depends partly on driver behaviour.

Forward collision warning

Lane departure warning

Active headlights

Negative effects:

• 18 per cent of drivers with active headlights are more willing to drive faster.
• 40 per cent are more willing to drive at night.

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Complete rural roads

Road design strategies proven to increase safety and mobility for rural road users.

• 2+1 roads with a central cable barrier can reduce fatal collisions sand serious injuries by 55 per cent
• Roundabouts can reduce the risk of fatal crashes by 50-70 per cent.
• Rumble strips can reduce off-road collisions by up to 36 per cent.
• Street lighting at rural intersections can reduce night-time crashes by 25-40 per cent.

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Complete urban streets

Road design strategies proven to increase safety and mobility for urban intersections.

• Advance stop lines can increase the likelihood of drivers yielding to pedestrians crossings by approximately 60 per cent.
• Protected bike lanes can reduce vehicle-bicycle crashes resulting in injuries by as much as 90 per cent.
• Pedestrian/raised refuge islands can reduce vehicle-pedestrian crashes by 46 per cent.
• Protected left-turns can reduce left-turn collisions by up to 99 per cent.

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Safe schools

Various changes to the built environment around schools can help lower the risk for pedestrian injuries and ensure kids get to and from school safely.

• Ensure school crossings and marked crosswalks are available. Most collisions within school zones occur at mid block locations, not intersections.
• Encourage active school travel. Presence of sidewalks and multi-use paths increases active transportation.
• Employ traffic calming measures. Speed humps are effective at reducing child pedestrian collisions. Other examples include traffic circles or pinch points.
• Develop safe school drop off and pick up plans. Dangerous driving behaviours in and around student drop-offs increase the risk of pedestrian motor vehicle collisions.
• Reduce speed limit in school zones. Pedestrians have a 90 per cent chance of survival when struck by a car travelling at 30 km/h or below, but less than 50 per cent chance of surviving an impact at 45 km/h.

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Teen beliefs about cannabis and driving

Common misconceptions Canadian youth have about cannabis and its harm according to the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA).

Belief: “If I only had one toke, then I could drive absolutely fine.”
Fact: Cannabis doubles the risk of being in a serious crash.

Belief: “Driving high is a terrible idea but it’s probably not as bad as alcohol.”
Fact: Nearly one-third of drivers who die in a crash test positive for cannabis.

Belief: “If I were to drive high, I think I’d be more focused.”
Fact: Cannabis can reduce your ability to concentrate, alter perceptions of time and space and slow reaction times.

Belief: “A lot of people do it and very few get caught.”
Fact: Police report nearly 3,000 drug-impaired driving incidents per year.