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At the same time, in Norway: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/oslo-traffic-road-deaths-accidents-norway-a9269441.html https://www.independent.co

At the same time, in Norway: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/oslo-traffic-road-deaths-accidents-norway-a9269441.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/oslo-traffic... Road deaths in Oslo (pop. 673.000) in 2019: Pedestrians: 0 Cyclists: 0 Children: 0 Totally different outcome from ”vision zero” - actually 0. Impressive.

arnsholt 7y ago
Vision Zero is a part of national traffic policy, enacted by Parliament in 2002 according to the Directorate of Roads. Apparently the goal for 2030 is a maximum of 350 severe injuries and deaths, but the overarching goal for traffic policy is to get to zero.
LeonidasXIV 7y ago
Similarly, another nordic capital, Helsinki (pop. 631.000): https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/17253-no-pedestrians-died-in-traffic-accidents-in-helsinki-in-2019-writes-helsingin-sanomat.html https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/1...
- jacquesm 7y ago
  Important factor for Helsinki: the nicest bike path in the North, below grade. It's an old repurposed railroad which gives the bulk of the city near instant access to split level cycling infrastructure.
iso947 7y ago
That link literally says 1 death, not zero It also says Norway as a whole has a death rate of 23 per million, not much lower than the uk (1 in 26)
- Arnt 7y ago
  The correct number is 1, a car driver who drove into a fence. Speed is not reported, but the speed limit there is low. Where do you get that 23? I looked it up and see 21.6. The average before the vision zero stuff started was much higher, BTW.
  - iso947 7y ago
    120 deaths, 5.2m people
    - Arnt 7y ago
      Whence 120? https://www.ssb.no/transport-og-reiseliv/artikler-og-publikasjoner/79-menn-og-30-kvinner-omkom-i-trafikken-i-fjor https://www.ssb.no/transport-og-reiseliv/artikler-og-publika... https://www.tryggtrafikk.no/pressemeldinger/109-omkom-i-trafikken-i-2019/ https://www.tryggtrafikk.no/pressemeldinger/109-omkom-i-traf... I don't suppose it really matters, considering how the graph for the past 20 years looks ;)
- jordanbeiber 7y ago
  That’s 1 in norway as a whole, but Oslo 0? It’s probably easier to keep numbers down in less populated areas as well. I’ve driven in London, as a rightie, and if those numbers checks out I’m equally impressed! Narrow, people, cars and scoters everywhere. It felt crazy at times, but I’m sure using the “wrong” side of the street compounded the issue. :)
woodpanel 7y ago
Having driven throughout Europe and as a non-Scandinavian I have to say that this impressive result has a lot to do with the ways scandinavians behave in traffic. As car-drivers as well as cyclists. If urban politicians in cities "just short of the border" to Scandinavia like Berlin or Hamburg propose such measures, residents with traffic experience in both places will often chuckle, because car drivers but even more so cyclists are much more aggressive in Germany than in Scandinavia. It is not uncommon for urban pedestrians in Germany to be more concerned with danger posed to them by cyclists than by cars.
- jordanbeiber 7y ago
  > It is not uncommon for urban pedestrians in Germany to be more concerned with danger posed to them by cyclists than by cars. As they should! Cyclists are often closer by and silent. Add to the fact that many cyclists are using the bike for exercise and seem to want to keep pace at any cost. But mostly - a car is made for running in to humans at relatively low speed, causing as little damage as possible. Bikes not so much. I’d much rather be hit by a car at 30km/h than a bike. Come to think of it - drivers license for cars probably makes a difference as well. Edit - anecdote: A co-worker of mine got hit by a bike at a buss stop. Not really super fast, but oh my he got tangled. Punctured lung, ruptured spleen, broken ribs etc. He was off work for almost a year in total. A modern car would most likely not have caused him, or the rider the kind of damage they incurred.
  - Joe-Z 7y ago
    >Punctured lung, ruptured spleen, broken ribs etc. What in the hell was going on there? I mean, I get GP's point about aggressive cyclists. I noticed them in Berlin especially (straight, wide roads on flat terrain), but even then people will usually try to brake before they run into you. This kind of damage sounds insane. Was the cyclist hitting him at full-speed? If so, how???
    - jordanbeiber 7y ago
      Yeah, so at places in Sweden we have the most stupid buss stops. You have main road, then a curb followed by a bicycle lane followed by a buss stop with a pedestrian sidewalk behind it. If you want to get to the buss you need to cross the cycle-lane. If the cyclist is careless and speeding, and you maybe are not paying enough attention, bad stuff can and do happen.
sundvor 7y ago
Don't forget that Oslo all but banned cars in the CBD.
- Symbiote 7y ago
  That is probably an excellent thing to do if the aim is to end traffic deaths.
anovikov 7y ago
One has to keep in mind that Norwegians are excellent drivers. Requirements to get a driver license are ridiculously difficult there, exams are almost unpassable. Probably because of difficult climate and sometimes difficult terrain - thus icy roads etc - which makes driving dangerous. Impressive result, but i don't think it's reproducible much elsewhere.
- sk0g 7y ago
  Excellent drivers maybe, but slightly psychotic when it comes to twisty roads! I got overtaken over a blind corner in a 50 zone, by a car doing around 100... Had to quickly get off the road once when I realised an oncoming truck wasn't going to slow down or budge, one tyre slipped off the road (or rather there was a crack on the edge of the road, flicked my steering into the woods). Also experienced being in a Tesla driven by an otherwise calm girl, was both fearing for my life and excited the entire time haha. Would definitely do a road trip around Norway again, and stick to the more scenic routes again, however. So much fun, and so much beautiful scenery. Maybe the latter was what impeded my driving ability :)

arnsholt 7y ago

Vision Zero is a part of national traffic policy, enacted by Parliament in 2002 according to the Directorate of Roads. Apparently the goal for 2030 is a maximum of 350 severe injuries and deaths, but the overarching goal for traffic policy is to get to zero.

LeonidasXIV 7y ago

Similarly, another nordic capital, Helsinki (pop. 631.000): https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/17253-no-pedestrians-died-in-traffic-accidents-in-helsinki-in-2019-writes-helsingin-sanomat.html https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/1...

jacquesm 7y ago
Important factor for Helsinki: the nicest bike path in the North, below grade. It's an old repurposed railroad which gives the bulk of the city near instant access to split level cycling infrastructure.

iso947 7y ago

That link literally says 1 death, not zero It also says Norway as a whole has a death rate of 23 per million, not much lower than the uk (1 in 26)

Arnt 7y ago
The correct number is 1, a car driver who drove into a fence. Speed is not reported, but the speed limit there is low. Where do you get that 23? I looked it up and see 21.6. The average before the vision zero stuff started was much higher, BTW.
- iso947 7y ago
  120 deaths, 5.2m people
  - Arnt 7y ago
    Whence 120? https://www.ssb.no/transport-og-reiseliv/artikler-og-publikasjoner/79-menn-og-30-kvinner-omkom-i-trafikken-i-fjor https://www.ssb.no/transport-og-reiseliv/artikler-og-publika... https://www.tryggtrafikk.no/pressemeldinger/109-omkom-i-trafikken-i-2019/ https://www.tryggtrafikk.no/pressemeldinger/109-omkom-i-traf... I don't suppose it really matters, considering how the graph for the past 20 years looks ;)
jordanbeiber 7y ago
That’s 1 in norway as a whole, but Oslo 0? It’s probably easier to keep numbers down in less populated areas as well. I’ve driven in London, as a rightie, and if those numbers checks out I’m equally impressed! Narrow, people, cars and scoters everywhere. It felt crazy at times, but I’m sure using the “wrong” side of the street compounded the issue. :)

woodpanel 7y ago

Having driven throughout Europe and as a non-Scandinavian I have to say that this impressive result has a lot to do with the ways scandinavians behave in traffic. As car-drivers as well as cyclists. If urban politicians in cities "just short of the border" to Scandinavia like Berlin or Hamburg propose such measures, residents with traffic experience in both places will often chuckle, because car drivers but even more so cyclists are much more aggressive in Germany than in Scandinavia. It is not uncommon for urban pedestrians in Germany to be more concerned with danger posed to them by cyclists than by cars.

jordanbeiber 7y ago
> It is not uncommon for urban pedestrians in Germany to be more concerned with danger posed to them by cyclists than by cars. As they should! Cyclists are often closer by and silent. Add to the fact that many cyclists are using the bike for exercise and seem to want to keep pace at any cost. But mostly - a car is made for running in to humans at relatively low speed, causing as little damage as possible. Bikes not so much. I’d much rather be hit by a car at 30km/h than a bike. Come to think of it - drivers license for cars probably makes a difference as well. Edit - anecdote: A co-worker of mine got hit by a bike at a buss stop. Not really super fast, but oh my he got tangled. Punctured lung, ruptured spleen, broken ribs etc. He was off work for almost a year in total. A modern car would most likely not have caused him, or the rider the kind of damage they incurred.
- Joe-Z 7y ago
  >Punctured lung, ruptured spleen, broken ribs etc. What in the hell was going on there? I mean, I get GP's point about aggressive cyclists. I noticed them in Berlin especially (straight, wide roads on flat terrain), but even then people will usually try to brake before they run into you. This kind of damage sounds insane. Was the cyclist hitting him at full-speed? If so, how???
  - jordanbeiber 7y ago
    Yeah, so at places in Sweden we have the most stupid buss stops. You have main road, then a curb followed by a bicycle lane followed by a buss stop with a pedestrian sidewalk behind it. If you want to get to the buss you need to cross the cycle-lane. If the cyclist is careless and speeding, and you maybe are not paying enough attention, bad stuff can and do happen.

sundvor 7y ago

Don't forget that Oslo all but banned cars in the CBD.

Symbiote 7y ago
That is probably an excellent thing to do if the aim is to end traffic deaths.

anovikov 7y ago

One has to keep in mind that Norwegians are excellent drivers. Requirements to get a driver license are ridiculously difficult there, exams are almost unpassable. Probably because of difficult climate and sometimes difficult terrain - thus icy roads etc - which makes driving dangerous. Impressive result, but i don't think it's reproducible much elsewhere.

sk0g 7y ago
Excellent drivers maybe, but slightly psychotic when it comes to twisty roads! I got overtaken over a blind corner in a 50 zone, by a car doing around 100... Had to quickly get off the road once when I realised an oncoming truck wasn't going to slow down or budge, one tyre slipped off the road (or rather there was a crack on the edge of the road, flicked my steering into the woods). Also experienced being in a Tesla driven by an otherwise calm girl, was both fearing for my life and excited the entire time haha. Would definitely do a road trip around Norway again, and stick to the more scenic routes again, however. So much fun, and so much beautiful scenery. Maybe the latter was what impeded my driving ability :)