In 2015, the city adopted Vision Zero, a policy framework from Sweden with the principle that no one should be killed in traffic. Then-Mayor Eric Garcetti set benchmarks for reducing traffic fatalities over a decade, culminating in the final goal of getting to zero traffic deaths by 2025.
The opposite has happened. Since the program’s adoption, traffic fatalities in L.A. have increased. In 2024, 303 people died in traffic fatalities in L.A., according to preliminary LAPD data reviewed by LAist.
The Netherlands more or less does this, so i’m not sure this take is that extremist.
But the Netherlands also doesn’t have nearly as much of a car culture, with infrastructure that favors alternatives like public transport, cycling and walking. And puts large emphasis on separating these different kinds of commuters from each other as much as possible.
This is also why it’s relatively safe cycle around routinely without any kind of protective gear. Something that most (especially overseas) tourists I meet think is wild.