Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla today announced substantial improvements in three of Hoboken’s Vision Zero safety categories. From 2019 to 2020, Hoboken saw a 54% decrease in pedestrians struck by a vehicle, a 13% decrease in bicyclists struck by vehicles, and a 37% decrease in vehicle on vehicle crashes. In 2020, and for the third consecutive year, Hoboken had 0 traffic-related fatalities, the most important benchmark in Hoboken’s Vision Zero campaign. Hoboken’s Vision Zero improvements come at a time when traffic fatality rates rose nationwide. According to the National Safety Council, 42,060 deaths in 2020 from motor vehicle crashes across the country represents an 8% increase over 2019.
“It’s clear that our Vision Zero pedestrian safety campaign is creating even safer streets for all of our residents and vulnerable users, despite nationwide trends going in the opposite direction,” said Mayor Bhalla. “Our focus on improved street designs that include a variety of pedestrian safety measures including new high-visibility crosswalks, curb extensions, bike lanes and more are a major reason why we’ve had another year of 0 traffic-related deaths in Hoboken. We will continue to prioritize safe streets in the years ahead to achieve our goal: 0 traffic-related deaths and injuries by 2030.”
Pedestrians struck by vehicles: 35% decrease from 2019 to 2020
2019 - 54
2020 - 35
Bicyclists struck by vehicles: 11% decrease from 2019 to 2020
2019 - 35
2020 - 31
Vehicles struck by other vehicles: 27% decrease from 2019 to 2020
2019 – 1410
2020 – 1027
0 traffic-related deaths for the third consecutive year
Hoboken’s Vision Zero improvements in 2020 coincide with higher traffic fatalities in New Jersey, which increased from 524 in 2019 to 552 in 2020, according to the New Jersey State Police. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, traffic fatality rates nationwide rose 30% during the first six months in 2020.
In August of 2019, Mayor Bhalla signed an Executive Order officially launching the Vision Zero safety initiative, immediately establishing a Vision Zero Task Force and creating a Vision Zero Action Plan, the City’s roadmap for achieving the elimination of traffic-related deaths and injuries by 2030. The Action Plan is currently being finalized by the task force and will be presented to the City Council and the public in the coming weeks.
The Hoboken statistics were created through a detailed analysis of crash reports by members of the traffic division of the Hoboken Police Department.
