'Vision 0' briefing: state reports fewer fatalities, agencies outline enforcement and engineering push
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Summary
State highway safety and SHA officials announced preliminary data showing an 18% drop in fatalities and outlined engineering, enforcement and funding efforts — including PSAP/VRU corridors and expanded automated enforcement — to reach zero fatalities by 2030.
Chrissy Neiser, motor vehicle administrator and the governor’s highway safety representative, told the Environment and Transportation Committee that preliminary 2025 data show an 18% decline in traffic fatalities compared with the prior year and that Maryland recorded about 480 fatalities — the first year under 500 since 2014. She also reported a 33% reduction in fatalities among vulnerable roadway users and described a multi‑pronged Vision 0 approach that combines data, local strategic planning, behavioral grants and engineering work.
Neiser outlined behavioral funding administered through the Maryland Highway Safety Office (about $12 million obligated last year) and said quarterly Vision 0 meetings are livestreamed with materials posted at 0‑md.gov. She previewed departmental legislative proposals on automated enforcement reciprocity and other technical changes.
Will Pines, State Highway Administrator, described SHA’s implementation of MDOT’s Complete Streets policy and the Pedestrian Safety Action Plan (PSAP), noting PSAP projects already in construction and plans to advertise seven PSAP projects in fiscal 2027. Pines described a Vulnerable Road User (VRU) safety assessment that identified 135 corridors needing attention and said SHA will package work into rounds to accelerate delivery, including quick‑build pilots and a statewide crosswalk upgrade effort.
Pines and other speakers credited a 2024 law, the Road Worker Protection Act, for introducing a tiered penalty structure and other work‑zone safeguards; SHA reported a 17% decrease in work‑zone citations year‑over‑year since the new fine structure and an almost 12% reduction in work‑zone crashes in 2025. SHA also said it plans procurement and program rollout for automated speed enforcement on several interstates with anticipated operations beginning in 2027.
Representatives of municipal and county associations described local implementation: Bill George of the Maryland Municipal League said about 52 municipalities now deploy speed cameras (roughly 300 cameras statewide) and urged local flexibility and statewide tools like reciprocity and trained technician review; Sarah Sample of the Maryland Association of Counties presented county data on camera types and requested expanded local authority and clarity on allowed uses of revenues.
Committee members thanked the panel and asked SHA and MDOT to follow up on corridor prioritization, funding mechanisms and coordination with local jurisdictions. Several speakers emphasized that automated enforcement and engineering countermeasures are part of a layered approach to cut fatalities and serious injuries.