Inside Maryland’s Vision Zero Plan: How the State Aims to Eliminate All Motor Vehicle Fatalities by 2030

Every year in Maryland, over 600 people die in traffic crashes—that’s nearly two deaths every single day. According to the Maryland Strategic Highway Safety Plan 2021-2025 published by the Maryland Department of Transportation, the state recorded 621 fatalities and 41,538 injuries from motor vehicle accidents in 2023 (MDOT Highway Safety Office, 2024). Each statistic represents a family forever changed by a preventable tragedy.

Personal injury attorneys who handle these cases on a daily basis see the devastating impact of these crashes firsthand. At Regan Zambri Long, our Maryland car accident lawyers work with families whose lives have been shattered by preventable collisions, making Maryland’s Vision Zero initiative not just a policy goal, but a personal mission.

Maryland has committed to changing this reality through Vision Zero, an initiative with one clear goal: to eliminate all traffic deaths and serious injuries on state roads by 2030. This isn’t just an aspiration—it’s a legal mandate backed by comprehensive planning and dedicated resources.

What Is Maryland’s Vision Zero Law?

Maryland’s Vision Zero law, passed in 2019, legally requires state agencies to work together toward zero traffic deaths by 2030. The law establishes that traffic fatalities are preventable, not inevitable accidents we must accept.

The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) implements this mandate through its Strategic Highway Safety Plan, a detailed roadmap that runs from 2021 to 2025. This plan uses actual crash data from Maryland roads to identify where, when, and why people are getting killed or seriously injured.

Rather than guessing at solutions, Maryland analyzes patterns in its crash data. For example, if multiple fatal crashes happen at the same intersection during left turns, the state knows to redesign that intersection’s traffic signals or geometry. This data-driven approach ensures resources go where they can save the most lives.

Legal professionals who represent crash victims understand how this data translates into real-world consequences. Maryland’s contributory negligence law makes the state’s Vision Zero initiative particularly vital—preventing crashes protects both victims and drivers from harsh legal consequences that can accompany even minor driver errors.

The Four Es: Maryland’s Safety Strategy

Maryland organizes its safety efforts around four complementary approaches, known in transportation planning as the “Four Es”:

Engineering: Designing Roads That Prevent Crashes

Engineering means building and redesigning roads to be safer. When engineers say a road should be “forgiving,” they mean it should minimize harm when drivers make mistakes—because people will always make mistakes.

Examples of engineering solutions Maryland uses:

• Roundabouts replace dangerous intersections and reduce fatal crashes by up to 90%
• Cable median barriers prevent head-on collisions on divided highways
• Better lighting at intersections helps drivers see pedestrians and other vehicles
• Rumble strips wake up drowsy drivers before they leave the roadway
• Protected left-turn signals eliminate guesswork about when it’s safe to turn

Maryland prioritizes these improvements at locations where crashes have already killed or seriously injured people, while also applying modern safety standards to new construction.

Personal injury lawyers working with Maryland crash victims know that infrastructure problems often involve government liability questions. When roads are poorly designed or maintained, both state and local governments may bear responsibility for resulting crashes.

Enforcement: Focusing Police Where Crashes Happen Most

Instead of random traffic enforcement, Maryland uses crash data to position police officers where they can prevent the most serious accidents. This targeted approach focuses on specific violations that cause the most deaths and injuries.

High-priority enforcement areas include:

• Corridors with histories of fatal crashes
• Times when impaired driving peaks (nights and weekends)
• School zones and work zones where vulnerable people are present
• Areas where speed-related crashes occur frequently

This strategy recognizes that police resources are limited, so they must be deployed where they can have the greatest impact.

Education: Teaching Drivers About Maryland’s Biggest Dangers

Education campaigns inform Maryland residents about the specific behaviors causing crashes in their state. These aren’t generic “drive safely” messages; they target the actual causes of traffic deaths in Maryland.

Current education priorities include:

• The dangers of holding phones while driving (now illegal statewide)
• How marijuana impairment affects driving ability
• Why excessive speed dramatically increases crash severity
• Proper use of child safety seats and seat belts

Educational efforts also address specific communities and geographic areas where crash data shows the greatest need.

Attorneys handling motor vehicle accident cases emphasize that Maryland’s hands-free driving law creates clear liability standards in distracted driving crashes, making education about these laws essential for all drivers.

Emergency Medical Services: Saving Lives When Crashes Occur

When crashes happen despite prevention efforts, rapid emergency response can mean the difference between life and death. Maryland’s plan includes improvements to emergency medical systems, trauma care, and coordination between first responders.

Emergency response improvements include:

• Faster response times in rural areas, where crashes are often more severe
• Better coordination between police, fire departments, and medical facilities
• Enhanced trauma care capabilities at hospitals statewide
• Improved communication systems for emergency responders

Six Crash Types Maryland Is Targeting for Elimination

Maryland’s crash data reveals six categories that account for the majority of traffic deaths and serious injuries statewide:

1. Distracted Driving Crashes

The Problem: Distracted driving now causes more crashes than it did before smartphones became common. Maryland’s hands-free driving law prohibits holding phones while driving, but distraction goes beyond just texting.

Maryland’s Approach: The state defines three types of distraction:

• Visual distraction: Taking your eyes off the road (looking at a phone, adjusting the radio)
• Manual distraction: Taking your hands off the wheel (eating, reaching for objects)
• Cognitive distraction: Taking your mind off driving (daydreaming, intense conversations)

Education efforts focus on helping drivers understand that even hands-free phone conversations can be cognitively distracting during complex driving situations.

2. Impaired Driving Prevention

The Problem: Impaired driving causes about one-third of all traffic deaths in Maryland. This includes alcohol, illegal drugs, prescription medications, and increasingly, marijuana impairment.

Maryland’s Approach: The state uses multiple strategies:

• Enhanced enforcement during high-risk periods (holidays, summer weekends)
• Ignition interlock devices for convicted impaired drivers
• Treatment programs that address underlying substance abuse issues
• Public education about drug impairment, which many drivers don’t recognize as dangerous

Maryland also supports ride-sharing programs and public transportation improvements that give people alternatives to driving while impaired.

3. Infrastructure Problems

The Problem: Many Maryland roads were built decades ago when safety standards were less stringent and traffic volumes were much lower. These older roads often lack modern safety features. High-volume freight corridors remain especially dangerous, making the work of experienced Maryland truck accident attorneys critical when crashes involve commercial vehicles.

Maryland’s Infrastructure Priorities:

• Installing cable barriers on divided highways to prevent cross-median crashes
• Improving lighting at intersections where nighttime crashes occur frequently
• Adding turn lanes at locations where rear-end crashes happen during turning movements
• Redesigning intersections to reduce the number of potential conflict points
• Upgrading guardrails and barrier systems to current safety standards

The state prioritizes improvements at locations where people have already been killed or seriously injured, ensuring that tragedy doesn’t repeat itself.

4. Seat Belt and Safety Equipment Use

The Problem: While Maryland has relatively high seat belt usage (around 90%), certain groups and geographic areas have lower compliance rates. Unbelted occupants are much more likely to die in crashes.

Maryland’s Approach:

• Targeted enforcement in areas with lower seat belt usage rates
• Education about proper child safety seat installation and use
• Motorcycle helmet awareness campaigns
• Programs that provide free or low-cost child safety seats to families who need them

The state recognizes that seat belt usage isn’t just about individual choice—factors like education, income, and cultural attitudes all influence compliance rates.

5. Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety

The Problem: Maryland’s growing urban areas have seen increasing pedestrian fatalities, particularly along busy roads that weren’t originally designed to accommodate foot traffic safely.

Maryland’s Protection Strategies:

• Installing pedestrian countdown signals that show how much time remains to cross
• Creating protected bike lanes separated from vehicle traffic
• Implementing “leading pedestrian intervals” that give pedestrians a head start when crossing
• Designing “complete streets” that safely accommodate cars, pedestrians, bicyclists, and public transit

Urban planning increasingly focuses on creating environments where people can walk and bike safely, recognizing that these activities benefit public health and reduce traffic congestion.

Safer street design also reduces the risk of serious crashes for cyclists, and our Maryland bicycle accident lawyers represent injured riders who are often the most vulnerable on the road.

6. Speed and Aggressive Driving

The Problem: Even small increases in speed dramatically increase both crash risk and injury severity. A pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling 20 mph has about a 5% chance of wrongful death, but that increases to about 85% when the vehicle is traveling 40 mph.

Speeding is also a frequent factor in crashes involving rideshare drivers under pressure to complete trips quickly. Our Maryland Uber accident lawyers help victims hold negligent rideshare companies and drivers accountable.

Maryland’s Speed Management Strategies:

• Automated speed enforcement in work zones and school areas
• Road design changes that encourage appropriate speeds (narrower lanes, landscaping, speed tables)
• Enhanced penalties for extreme speeding violations
• Public education about the relationship between speed and crash severity

The state recognizes that speed limits alone don’t control speed; road design has a much greater influence on how fast people actually drive.

How Maryland Uses Data to Make Roads Safer

Maryland maintains detailed databases of every reported crash in the state, including information about location, time, weather conditions, vehicle types, driver actions, and injury severity. Transportation safety professionals analyze this data to identify patterns that might not be obvious otherwise.

Examples of data-driven insights:

• If multiple crashes happen at the same intersection during wet weather, the state might improve drainage or install better pavement materials
• If young drivers are overrepresented in nighttime crashes on a particular road, enforcement and education efforts can target that demographic and location
• If motorcycle crashes increase during certain months, awareness campaigns can be timed accordingly

This analytical approach helps Maryland invest limited resources where they can prevent the most deaths and serious injuries, rather than making improvements based on complaints or political pressure.

The Role of New Technology in Maryland’s Safety Plan

Maryland’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan anticipates how emerging transportation technologies will impact road safety over the next decade.

Connected and Autonomous Vehicles

Connected vehicles can communicate with each other and with roadway infrastructure to prevent crashes. For example, a connected vehicle could warn drivers about stopped traffic ahead, even around curves where they can’t see the hazard.

Autonomous vehicles promise even greater safety benefits by eliminating human error, which causes about 94% of serious traffic crashes. However, the transition period when both traditional and automated vehicles share roads will require careful management.

Smart Infrastructure

Maryland is preparing its infrastructure to support these new technologies:

• Traffic signals that can communicate with vehicles to optimize timing and prevent crashes
• Road sensors that detect hazardous conditions and warn approaching drivers
• Variable message signs that provide real-time safety information

However, these technologies will take years to deploy widely, so Maryland’s current plan focuses primarily on proven safety countermeasures.

Community Involvement in Vision Zero

Achieving zero traffic deaths requires more than state government action. Maryland’s plan includes ongoing engagement with:

• Local Governments: Counties and municipalities know their roads best and often implement the day-to-day maintenance and traffic control that affects safety.
• Law Enforcement: Police agencies at all levels contribute to enforcement efforts and provide valuable insights about crash trends in their jurisdictions.
• Healthcare Providers: Hospitals and emergency medical services help identify injury patterns and contribute to emergency response improvements.
• Advocacy Organizations: Groups representing pedestrians, bicyclists, and crash victims help ensure that all road users’ needs are considered in safety planning.
• Community Members: Residents provide local knowledge about dangerous locations and traffic patterns that official data might miss.

Regular public meetings and online feedback systems help maintain community engagement throughout the Vision Zero initiative.

Measuring Progress Toward Zero Deaths

Maryland tracks multiple metrics to assess its progress toward the 2030 goal:

Primary Measures:

• Total traffic fatalities per year
• Serious injuries requiring hospitalization
• Fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled

Leading Indicators:

• Seat belt usage rates across different demographic groups
• Impaired driving arrests and convictions
• Number of infrastructure safety improvements completed
• Public awareness levels of key safety messages

Annual progress reports provide public accountability and help identify areas where additional focus is needed. The state also compares its performance to other states with similar Vision Zero commitments, learning from successful approaches implemented elsewhere.

Challenges Maryland Faces

Achieving zero traffic deaths by 2030 represents an ambitious goal that faces several realistic challenges:

• Funding Constraints: Safety improvements require significant investment in infrastructure, enforcement, and education programs during a time when transportation budgets face multiple competing priorities.
• Changing Travel Patterns: Population growth and evolving travel patterns (such as increased delivery vehicle traffic) create new safety challenges that weren’t anticipated when the original plan was developed.
• Behavioral Change: Changing driving behaviors requires sustained effort and often takes longer than infrastructure improvements to show results.
• Coordination Complexity: Success requires coordination among dozens of state and local agencies, each with its own priorities and constraints.

Despite these challenges, Maryland’s comprehensive, data-driven approach provides a realistic framework for making substantial progress toward zero deaths, even if perfect success proves difficult within the 2030 timeframe.

Economic and Social Benefits Beyond Safety

Maryland’s Vision Zero initiative creates benefits that extend beyond car crash prevention:

• Economic Benefits: Traffic crashes cost Maryland’s economy billions of dollars annually through medical expenses, property damage, lost productivity, and emergency response costs. Every prevented crash generates economic benefits that can support additional safety investments.
• Public Health Benefits: Safer roads encourage walking and bicycling, contributing to improved public health outcomes. Reduced air pollution from more efficient traffic flow provides additional health benefits.
• Community Livability: Safer streets create more pleasant environments where people want to live, work, and visit. This can support economic development and improve the quality of life.
• Social Equity: Traffic crashes disproportionately affect certain communities and demographic groups. Vision Zero initiatives often address these disparities by focusing on improvements in underserved areas.

Maryland as a Model for Other States

Maryland’s leadership in comprehensive traffic safety planning helps establish the state as a model for other jurisdictions. The lessons learned from Maryland’s Vision Zero implementation—both successes and challenges—contribute to the broader movement toward eliminating traffic deaths nationwide.

Several other states and dozens of cities have adopted similar Vision Zero commitments, creating opportunities to share best practices and learn from different approaches to the same fundamental goal.

Legal Support for Maryland Car Accident Victims

While Maryland works toward achieving its Vision Zero goal, families affected by traffic crashes require experienced legal representation following serious accidents. The Maryland personal injury attorneys at Regan Zambri Long understand both the technical aspects of crash causation and the human cost of traffic violence.

Our legal team works with accident reconstruction experts, medical professionals, and transportation safety specialists to build strong cases for crash victims. We’ve seen how infrastructure failures, distracted driving, and other preventable causes devastate families, making Maryland’s Vision Zero initiative not just good policy, but a moral imperative.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a motor vehicle accident in Maryland, contact our experienced legal team for a free consultation. We understand the challenges you’re facing and can help you pursue the compensation you deserve while Maryland continues working toward zero traffic deaths.

About the Author

Patrick M. Regan, Esq.

Patrick Regan is a board certified personal injury lawyer and a founding partner at Regan Zambri Long. His practice is devoted to helping those who suffered catastrophic injuries in car accidents, truck accidents, Metro accidents, and medical malpractice. Over his nearly 40-year career, Patrick has obtained some of the most significant jury verdicts in the history of Washington, DC on behalf of injured victims. Patrick is licensed to practice law in Washington, DC, Virginia, and Maryland. He received his B.A. at Hamilton College and his J.D. at the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America.