Vision Zero is the City of San José’s initiative to eliminate fatal and severe-injury traffic crashes. Vision Zero began in Sweden in the late 1990s and has since become a global effort. In 2015, San José became the fourth city in the United States to adopt a Vision Zero goal.

The 2025 Vision Zero Action Plan is guided by the principles of the Safe System Approach, as defined by the U.S. Department of Transportation. With the Plan’s adoption, the City now has two ambitious traffic safety goals:

• Reduce the number of people killed and severely injured in crashes by 30% by 2030
• Eliminate fatal and severe-injury traffic crashes by 2040

The links below give more details on the ways we measure, message, and implement traffic safety.

Vision Zero Action Plan and Data Dashboards

Understanding the prevalence, causes, and locations of fatal and severe-injury crashes is crucial to developing effective solutions.

Supporting a Safe System Approach 

Vision Zero uses the Federal Highway Administration's Safe System Approach, which acknowledges that:

• Deaths and serious injuries are unacceptable
• Humans make mistakes
• Humans are vulnerable
• Responsibility is shared
• Safety is proactive
• Redundancy is crucial

The following programs, campaigns, and other efforts support the Safe System Approach:

Frequently Asked Questions

See below for answers to frequently asked questions about Vision Zero. Don't see your question answered here? Email the Vision Zero team at Vision.Zero@sanjoseca.gov.