Cruise Supports Vision Zero Network and Commits to National #ZeroTrafficDeaths Campaign
“We’re excited to partner with Cruise to make sure we’re doing all we can to make our streets, sidewalks, and bikeways safe for everyone. “We all need to step up to prioritize safety, including government at all levels and the private sector.”
— Leah Shahum, of the Vision Zero Network.
San Francisco — like more than 45 cities across the nation — has an ambitious goal: eliminating traffic fatalities and severe injuries within the next four years. But how do we get there? Every day across the U.S., it is estimated that more than 100 people will die due to road injury while walking, biking, driving, or taking transit. While the pandemic may be the public health crisis that currently has our attention, the reality is that these alarming statistics of 40,000 preventable traffic deaths each year — and real people and the lives of loved ones changed forever — are not new. But, traffic safety is one public health crisis we can solve — and it’s at the core of Cruise’s mission.
At Cruise, we are committed to providing safe, sustainable transportation for everyone. Last year, we became the first self-driving company to power our fleet with 100% renewable energy, furthering our dedication to sustainability with our all-electric, zero-emission fleet. Now, we’re proud to announce we’re doubling down on our commitment to safety by supporting the Vision Zero Network and partnering to make our streets safer for everyone.
The nonprofit Vision Zero Network works to advance the goal of safety for all by convening leaders from a variety of realms — such as public health, transportation planning & engineering, policy, community advocacy, and the private sector — to share promising strategies and work together to promote solutions. This movement is predicated on the idea that the only way to make Vision Zero a reality is by involving leaders from diverse fields to implement meaningful policies and practices that ensure safe mobility for all. As a first step in our partnership, Cruise has signed on in support of the first ever #ZeroTrafficDeaths goal, a new campaign urging the Biden Administration to set and advance the national goal of zero traffic related fatalities by 2050.
Autonomous vehicles have the potential to be an important means to support reaching the goal of zero traffic fatalities. Fully autonomous vehicles have the potential to “see” more and act faster, meaning that in addition to reducing the number of fatalities, autonomous vehicles could reduce the number of crashes and injuries overall.
As an example, each Cruise AV is equipped with 360 degree cameras meaning our vehicles never have a blind spot, our radar sensors quickly measure the speed and trajectory of moving objects, and our LiDAR sensors use an array of lasers to measure the distance between objects down to the centimeter.
San Francisco was the second jurisdiction in the nation to adopt Vision Zero in 2014, but the truth is we’re not currently on track to meet that goal. WalkSF reports that on average San Francisco General Hospital receives someone with a severe traffic-related injury every 15 hours. Vision Zero is a paradigm shift from the traditional approach that aims to reduce problems to a proactive approach that makes safety the top priority. Cruise believes we also need to leverage private sector innovation to help us close the safety gap.
Cruise’s vision is to build a new kind of transportation that protects our planet and protects people. This isn’t some far off future; in fact, we’re getting closer to that reality everyday. Recently, Cruise began safe, driverless testing on San Francisco streets — one of the most complex urban environments in the world. As we continue developing our technology and progressing towards launching a safe autonomous vehicle service for all San Franciscans, we are proud to join the Vision Zero movement. We are confident that together, we will make #ZeroTrafficDeaths a reality for everyone.
