NEW HIGHWAY SAFETY GOAL Submitted by: Highway Safety Committee HSC.012.a08

WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported for 2005 that motor vehicle traffic crashes were the leading cause of death for every age 3 through 6 and 8 through 34, and that the annual economic cost of crashes in the United States is in excess of $230 billion; and WHEREAS, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) figures, motor vehicle fatalities decreased from 43,510 in 2005, to 42,642 in 2006; and the fatality rate fell from 1.47 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in 2005, to 1.41 per 100 million VMT in 2006; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Transportations current goal of reducing the highway fatality rate to 1.00 per 100 million VMT by Fiscal Year 2008 will not be achieved; and

WHEREAS, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) recognizes that success in implementing an aggressive highway safety goal is based in large part upon wide acceptance and enthusiastic support by the general public, media, and public/private institutions of highway safety goals; and

WHEREAS, statement of a safety goal in terms of actual number of lives saved will resonate with the public and highway safety organizations significantly more than the abstract notion of an exposure rate measure; and

WHEREAS, a significant number of highway safety organizations have recognized the value of this approach and have moved to the use of an absolute number of lives saved as their highway safety goal including in some cases the concept of a vision which encourages movement towards zero deaths on public highways; and

WHEREAS, the IACP acknowledges that this approach will be of great value to regaining positive momentum in improving highway safety; and

WHEREAS, more effective domestic and international safety laws, highly visible and sustained law enforcement efforts, new motor vehicle safety technologies, increased resources and improved highway infrastructure can move the United States and other countries in the direction of significantly reduced fatalities; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED that the International Association of Chiefs of Police duly assembled at its 115th Annual Conference in San Diego, California joins the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in adopting a national highway safety goal of halving fatalities over the next two decades, or by reducing fatalities by 1,000 per year; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED that adoption of this goal be broadly communicated to key safety partner organizations, including the U.S. Department of Transportation and national transportation and highway safety organizations, so as to encourage acknowledgment and potential adoption of this goal by such partner organizations; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED that this goal serve as a guide for the Administration, the Congress, States, Local Governments and other entities involved in highway safety as they work towards reauthorization of the SAFETEA-LU legislation expiring September 30, 2009.