The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Michigan State Police have continued their Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) statewide-safety campaign this year.
This campaign is based on the national strategy on highway safety aimed at affecting driver behavior and improving safety. With more than 42,900 fatalities occurring on U.S. highways each year, road safety is still one of the most challenging problems in Michigan and across the U.S.
Did you know that more than 1,300 Michiganders don’t come home each year in our state because of traffic crashes? To address this, the TZD strategy involves improving driver education, emergency response, enforcement, engineering, policy, communications, and other efforts that will help Michigan get closer to our goal of zero fatalities. By adding safety into all aspects of transportation, our state will achieve this objective.
Let’s look at some of the ways that we are working to achieve this goal:
Senior Mobility
MDOT has been working to meet the challenges of Michigan’s aging population through enhanced signage, encouraging senior-friendly transportation options, and improving communications and coordination among partners.
Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP)
The goal of this program is to see a dramatic decrease in traffic fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads.
Safe Routes 2 School (SR2S)
This is a federal program designed to create safe, convenient, and fun ways for kids to bike and walk to school, allowing them to have the regular physical activity that’s required for good health.
Complete Streets
These are Michigan roads that are planned, designed, and constructed to provide appropriate access to all legal users in a way that promotes safe and efficient movement of people and goods, as well as respecting community values.
Traffic Incident Management (TIM)
This is the planned and coordinated multi-disciplinary processes that’s used to detect, respond to, and clear traffic incidents as quickly as possible, while at the same time protecting the safety of on-scene responders and the motoring public.
Local Safety Initiative (LSI)
MDOT created this program to provide technical traffic safety assistance to local road-owning agencies, like municipalities, county road commissions, and tribal governments. That’s because local roads see a higher percentage of fatal and serious injuries in terms of miles driven than state-owned roads.
Operation Lifesaver
This program is part of a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to ending collisions, fatalities, and injuries at highway-railroad crossings, as well as trespassing on railroad properties. This is accomplished by increasing public awareness of potential highway-railroad crossing and trespassing hazards.
These are some of the programs in which MDOT is involved to improve safety on Michigan’s roads. They want our roads to be as safe as possible in every stage – from design to construction to long-term support of users on the roads. Keeping safety at the forefront of all MDOT practices helps move Michigan Toward Zero Deaths.
Contact Us
If you or a family member has been involved in an auto accident in Michigan, you may be entitled to compensation for serious injuries. You need a reliable Michigan car accident attorney that understands the Michigan no-fault insurance laws and can get you what you deserve.
For a free consultation with an experienced auto accident attorney in Michigan, contact Buchanan Firm. Our firm proudly serves people all across Michigan, including major cities like Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Detroit, Lansing, Holland, St. Joe, and Ann Arbor, and rural towns such as Lowell, Ada, Fremont, Newaygo, Grand Haven, Rockford, and Cedar Springs. We will meet you after hours, at home, or in the hospital to accommodate you.