Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SCR42 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
	1	+	85R13797 BPG-D
1	2		By: Garcia S.C.R. No. 42
2		-	(In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2017; March 22, 2017, read
3		-	first time and referred to Committee on Transportation;
4		-	April 18, 2017, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 9,
5		-	Nays 0; April 18, 2017, sent to printer.)
6		-	Click here to see the committee vote
7	3
8	4
9		-	~~SENATE~~ CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	5	+	CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
10	6		WHEREAS, Among states with populations greater than five
11	7		million, the State of Texas has the nation's second-highest rate of
12	8		traffic deaths per capita; and
13	9		WHEREAS, Every day, 10 people die on Texas roads, and 50
14	10		suffer debilitating, life-changing injuries in traffic accidents;
15	11		federal transportation laws already require each state to develop a
16	12		strategic highway safety plan that focuses the efforts of all
17	13		safety partners on the highest priority needs, but what Texas
18	14		requires is the unification of stakeholders in support of an
19	15		overarching program designed to end acceptance of traffic mayhem as
20	16		a normative occurrence; and
21	17		WHEREAS, In 1997, Sweden adopted Vision Zero, a systems
22	18		approach to enhancing traffic safety; it places core responsibility
23	19		for crashes on overall system design, addressing safety through
24	20		infrastructure design, vehicle technology, and enforcement; as a
25	21		result of this bold initiative, the Scandinavian nation now has one
26	22		of the lowest annual rates of road deaths in the world, with only 3
27	23		out of 100,000, roughly a quarter of the rate in the United States;
28	24		and
29	25		WHEREAS, Other European countries have significantly reduced
30	26		fatalities through Vision Zero initiatives, and Spain more than
31	27		halved its number of traffic deaths; in the United States, Vision
32	28		Zero has proven effective in many places, reducing fatalities by 40
33	29		percent or more in Minnesota, Utah, and Washington State; New York
34	30		City achieved a tremendous reduction in pedestrian fatalities,
35	31		which in 2014 fell to the lowest number since records began about a
36	32		century ago; and
37	33		WHEREAS, Vision Zero is based on four principles: ethics,
38	34		responsibility, system safety, and mechanisms for change; human
39	35		life and health are paramount, providers and regulators of road
40	36		traffic systems share responsibility with users, and systems should
41	37		take account of human fallibility to minimize opportunities for
42	38		error and the harm done when mistakes occur; finally, providers and
43	39		regulators must do their utmost to guarantee the safety of all
44	40		citizens, cooperating with road users, and all three elements must
45	41		be prepared to undergo necessary change; and
46	42		WHEREAS, Loss of life is not an acceptable price to pay for
47	43		mobility, and the state must take a more comprehensive approach to
48	44		traffic safety, guided by a zero-fatality goal; now, therefore, be
49	45		it
50	46		RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas
51	47		hereby direct the Texas Department of Transportation to adopt a
52	48		Vision Zero strategy to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries;
53	49		and, be it further
54	50		RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward an
55		-	official copy of this resolution to the chair of the Texas
56		-	Transportation Commission and the executive director of the Texas
57		-	Department of Transportation.
58		-	* * * * *
	51	+	official copy of this resolution to the chair of the board and the
	52	+	executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation.