Richmond sees 29% drop in vehicle-related deaths in 2024 compared to 2023

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Vehicle-related deaths in the City of Richmond decreased by more than 25% from 2023 to 2024. This is the latest annual data as we approach the seventh year of Vision Zero's implementation.

According to the city's website, Vision Zero is "a global strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries while promoting safe, healthy, and equitable mobility for everyone." The initiative was implemented by then-Mayor Levar Stoney in 2018 and aims to eliminate all traffic-related fatalities and severe injuries by 2030.

As part of the initiative, Richmond has installed more speed cameras throughout the city in an effort to enhance school safety.

According to the Vision Zero Dashboard, there was a 29% decrease in people killed in vehicle-related deaths from 2023 to 2024, with the death toll moving from 24 lives to 17.

The number of people incapacitated decreased from 170 to 167. People killed in alcohol-related crashes went down by half, from 10 lives to five -- 2023 was the highest recorded alcohol-related death count since Vision Zero began.

Pedestrians killed by car crashes went down from nine deaths to six. However, the 3-year average of total annual crashes sits at 4,239.

According to the City's website, Vision Zero originated in the 1990s in Sweden and has seen significant success across Europe. Notably, cities that have adopted Vision Zero are Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C. and Chicago.

To see more about Richmond crash data, visit the Vision Zero Dashboard.