Eric Scott’s Safety Spotlight: NJDOT is improving road safety through the Safe System Approach

Everyone wants safer roads, but driving safer is another matter. Motorists have places to go and people to see, and they all think they’re driving a high-performance racecar. They’re not.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Commissioner Fran O’Connor understand this - safety has always been their top priority - but even with new technologies, safety countermeasures, and smarter roadway design, fatal crashes are still claiming too many lives of motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.

Eager to fight the crisis, Gov.  Murphy recently signed legislation to create the Target Zero Commission, which will bring together 10 state agencies to create an action plan that establishes strategies to target zero traffic related fatalities by 2040. NJDOT is all in on this mission and has instituted the globally tested Safe System Approach as the guiding framework for Target Zero. This holistic approach has been adopted by more than 50 countries worldwide and has proven to be an effective method for reducing traffic deaths and serious injuries.

In 2025, everyone knows they’re not supposed to drink and drive but all too often think… “It was just three drinks,” “It’s such a short ride home,” or “I don’t want to spend money on a cab.”

Until people stop driving under the influence, or while sleep deprived, or distracted by their phones, the Safe System Approach recognizes that human error is inevitable and focuses on designing systems that minimize the severity of potential crashes by creating multiple layers of protection – rather than relying solely on individuals to change their behavior.

As humans have noted since the invention of the automobile, drivers are not always sensible - running red lights, speeding, or weaving in and out of lanes like slalom skiers.

Added to these errors of commission, people make unintentional mistakes. The Safe System Approach acknowledges this and guards against it.

How does the Safe System Approach work?

Developed in Sweden, where it reduced road fatalities by more than half, the Safe System Approach is built around five elements:

• Safer Road Users.
• Safer Vehicles.
• Safer Roads.
• Safer Speeds.
• Post-Crash Care.

Each of these elements feeds off another, offering compounding protection with each followed step.

Through social media and other promotional campaigns, NJDOT seeks to make road users more alert to potential dangers when they get behind the wheel. Once these more aware drivers are on the road, the Safe System Approach wants them to be on roads better-designed to avert crises – fewer sharp turns, better intersections, smoother road surfaces, better signage, marked bike lanes – and in safer cars that sense danger before it happens. Safe Systems looks to further maximize road safety with more vehicles traveling at speeds designed to get everyone home alive – with better enforcement on the highways, and more speed bumps in neighborhoods.

Lastly, should a crash occur, emergency vehicles will be notified more quickly, and roadside care will be administered with a greater eye on safety. When you see first responders on the side of the road, move aside.

NJDOT Commissioner Fran O’Connor has cited two examples of early wins in adopting Safe Systems. “The pedestrian safety improvements completed at Route 129 and Lalor Street in Trenton have already shown promising results,” he said. “Crashes involving pedestrians have been reduced by more than half.

“Earlier this winter, similar enhancements were implemented at Routes 1&9 and East Jersey Street in Elizabeth. These efforts demonstrate that with the right tools, technologies, and teamwork, we can create safer roadways.”

In the coming year, NJDOT will be working to bring advanced safety technologies to 10 of the state’s most dangerous intersections and work to support local law enforcement agencies in transitioning to electronic crash record submissions.