National Safety Council and U.S. DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Announce Safe System Innovation Grant Recipients

Winners share the Road to Zero mission of eliminating roadway deaths in 30 years

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Mar 15, 2017, 15:17 ET

ITASCA, Ill., March 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Safety Council and the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are pleased to announce the recipients of the first-ever Safe System Innovation Grants through the Road to Zero initiative. The grants are awarded to organizations with innovative approaches to making roadways safer and eliminating preventable roadway deaths – the mission of the Road to Zero initiative.

"Preliminary estimates indicate that we lost as many as 40,000 people last year in motor vehicle crashes, underscoring the need to act urgently," said Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. "We had an impressive pool of applicants, but the creativity and carefully considered strategies of the grant recipients set them apart. We look forward to working with them on our shared journey toward zero deaths."

Grant recipients are:

Organization Name	Initiative
City of Chicago Vision Zero	Vision Zero Garfield Park
Los Angeles Police Department Vision Zero	Vision Zero – Priority Corridor Safety Details
National Association of County Engineers	Advancing Local Road Safety Practices with State DOTs
San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency Vision Zero	Vision Zero SF – Distracted Driving
Regents of the University of Michigan (University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute)	Reducing Fatalities: A Framework for Identifying Future Needs in Technological Countermeasures and Public Policies
Roadway Safety Foundation	usRAP Across America
National Complete Streets Coalition, Smart Growth America	Safe Streets Academy

Each of the 62 grant applications were reviewed and rated on the same criteria by a total of four separate grant readers. NSC assimilated this input and made selections based on merit. The top seven rated grant recipients totaling $1 million were chosen for the first-ever Safe System Innovation Grants through the Road to Zero focusing on eliminating roadway deaths and injuries through safe systems approach. The grants were evaluated on six elements including project description and goal, solution, education, reach, project management and timeline of the project.

The Road to Zero initiative was launched in October 2016 as a joint effort between the National Safety Council and U.S. DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Federal Highway Administration and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The goal is to eliminate roadway deaths within 30 years. NHTSA committed $3 million in annual funding for the next three years for the Safe System Innovation Grants, and the National Safety Council is managing distribution of the grant funds and the selection process.

For more information about the Road to Zero, please visit nsc.org/roadtozero.

About the National Safety Council
Founded in 1913 and chartered by Congress, the National Safety Council, nsc.org, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to eliminate preventable deaths at work, in homes and communities, and on the road through leadership, research, education and advocacy. NSC advances this mission by partnering with businesses, government agencies, elected officials and the public in areas where we can make the most impact – distracted driving, teen driving, workplace safety, prescription drug overdoses and Safe Communities.

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SOURCE National Safety Council