PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia officials say traffic fatalities dropped by 26% last year. They attribute the improvement to traffic safety measures as part of the Vision Zero plan.
Marco Gorini is program manager for Vision Zero, the 10-year-old program aimed at eliminating traffic deaths and injuries in the city. He says there were 89 traffic deaths last year; about half were bikers or pedestrians. That’s the lowest number since a surge during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gorini largely credits speed cameras, which are now active on three of the city’s high-injury networks where most crashes occur.
“Speed cameras are working. We’re seeing a change in driver behavior that we need to see to save lives,” Gorini said.
At the same time, though, crashes with serious injuries increased slightly in 2025. Gorini says there is much left to do to get to zero, including more outreach to drivers.
“Slowing down is the biggest shift in culture that we need to see. Vision Zero’s top message to Philadelphians is that slowing down saves lives,” Gorini said. “When a person is hit by a driver at 20 miles per hour, there’s a 10% chance that that crash results in a fatality. At 40 miles per hour, there’s now a 90% chance a pedestrian will be killed.”
In addition to expanding speed cameras, Vision Zero added speed bumps, narrowed crosswalks to reduce the time pedestrians are at risk, programmed stop lights to give walkers a head start over cars, and improved bike lanes to separate cyclists from drivers.
