The Voice of Liberty: The Real Goal of Vision Zero: Eliminating Private Vehicle Ownership and Freedom of Mobility

The Real Goal of Vision Zero:

Eliminating Private Vehicle Ownership and Freedom of Mobility

“Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it.”

― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

There are three hard truths that the citizens of Washington, DC must be willing to face in order to defund Vision Zero. The first is that Vision Zero is a taxpayer boondoggle that fails to achieve what it is advertised to achieve. The second is that ideologues measure the success of Vision Zero not by achieving zero traffic deaths but by adding countries, states, cities and other legislative jurisdictions to their rolls. Lastly, the real goal of Vision Zero is eliminating private motorized transportation and freedom of mobility and replacing it with a human-powered or motor-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other and mobility heavily regulated by public entities. While the vision proclaims that "Life and health can never be exchanged for other benefits within the society", we must understand that certain lobbyists would persuade you to “follow their science” and not “follow their money” when it comes to installing new systems of control on how you move.

Chart A. Number of DC Homicides Through Two Terms of Mayor Muriel Bowser (D-DC)

2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
198	166	160	116	135	162

DC Witness, a true journalistic organization that brings unprecedented transparency to Washington, D.C.’s Criminal Justice system, reported the following on the Nation Capitol’s homicide toll:

‘There were 80 homicides in DC from the beginning of this year through the end of May, according to D.C. Witness data...Eighty percent of the 2021 victims were shot. Twelve-and-a-half percent were stabbed.”

Certainly, the Democrat Mayor of Washington, DC would never be accessed of bring unconcerned about murders in the City, In 2021, she has watched the number of homicides rise to over 200 (204 per this reporting) with the 2022 New Year five (3) weeks away. In fact, the Mayor that some described as “the Police-bashing, BLM-backing D.C. mayor” has never had less than 100 homicides during any year of her tenure as Commander of Public Safety and Justice. She has watched as the Police Chief turnstile has spun through three notable public servants: Cathy Lanier, now Senior Vice President of Security with the National Football League; Peter Newsham, now Chief of Police for nearby Prince William County, Virginia; and currently, Chief Robert Contee III. Even this record, asin a Democrat stronghold, she is brazen to announce that she will run again.

So in May 2021, what death did she have on her mind? What lives lost were valued with a $351 million promissory note? Maybe, on May 28, 2021, Mayor Bowser was thinking of 65 year old Ella-Mae Neal who was killed in the 1800 block of Q Street SE when someone opened fire, a police report says. Maybe on May 28, 2021, Mayor Bowser was thinking of the Cold Case of Charnice Milton, a community journalist shot and killed in the 2700 block of Good Hope Road, SE on Wednesday, May 27, 2015. Certainly, these lives mattered so greatly as to infuse millions of dollars into the DC Cold Case Division to take heinous criminals off the streets.

Chart B. Number of DC Traffic Fatalities Through Two Terms of Mayor Muriel Bowser (D-DC)

2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
37	27	36	30	28	26

Not Cold Cases from DC’s Major Case / Unsolved Homicides Division.

Not the Ever Escalating DC Homicide Count.

The greatest threat to the existence of DC residents was on her mind: Traffic Fatalities.

Well, at least, Mayor Bwser could find the shaft to the silver and gold digging in this mine. Heck, there was no money in the other Dearth Stats. The Vision Zero initiative is D.C.'s plan, begun in 2015, to reduce traffic fatalities to zero by the year 2024. In 2020, the DC Council passed a massive amended, under funded Vision Zero bill to address safety on D.C. streets. It included provisions for building more sidewalks, protected bike lanes, and improving traffic enforcement.

Vision Zero is a multi-national road traffic safety project that aims to achieve a highway system with no fatalities or serious injuries involving road traffic. It started in Sweden and was approved by their parliament in October 1997. Sweden introduced a road safety policy named Vision Zero with the long-term aim of cutting fatal accidents to zero by 2020. The target was that by 2007, there would be no more than 270 road traffic deaths, but this target wasn't reached, with almost 500 people dying that year. It is worth noting that Sweden's road death toll was declining prior to 1997 and continued to do so under Vision Zero. However, the number of deaths has not improved since 2013. For the District of Columbia, traffic fatalities had fallen from a high of 72 (2001) to a low of 19 (2012). Since Mayor Bowser has chosen the pathway to zero through the United Nations’ sustainability initiatives in 2015, traffic fatalities have risen. In 2015, DC Vision Zero recorded 26 traffic fatalities. DC Vision Zero traffic fatalities as of November 30, 2021, have risen to 39, which is 5% above the 37 traffic fatalities at this time last year. It took Sweden more than two decades to halve their traffic fatalities. When they could not achieve their target of halving 270, they moved the goal posts to the achievable year of 2050.

Could it be that Vision Zero has achieved its maximum success statistically? The ideologues say, “NO!” Apparently, like socialism, it has not been tried the right way yet and we must double down on what’s not working. All that is needed is more money and time and the problem will be fixed. Imagine if the ideologues felt that way about eliminating abortions or homicdes in Urban America. Imagine Vision Zero Cold Cases. No, if we are to focus on utopia, let it begin with traffic. How shall we achieve Zero if we have done all that we can? Wait a minute, there is more? Yes, what is the ultimate reason that you have traffic fatalities? Yes, you got it, cars and trucks.

The Government of Sweden defines Vision Zero in their re-commitment in this way: “The long-term objective is that no one shall be killed or seriously injured in traffic and that the design, function and use of the transport system shall be adapted to the standards this requires. Vision Zero is an approach wherein responsibility for transport safety is shared between individual transport system users and “system designers” (the entities that shape the system, such as the automotive industry, lawmakers and infrastructure owners). If transport system users do not follow the rules - for reasons such as lack of respect, knowledge, acceptance or capacity - or if personal injuries occur in a crash, the system shapers must take further measures to the extent required to prevent deaths and serious injuries.”

The DC Mayor and her Administration defines Vision Zero in this way:

“By the year 2024, Washington, DC will reach zero fatalities and serious injuries to travelers of our transportation system, through more effective use of data, education, enforcement, and engineering.

Vision Zero is a part of Mayor Bowser’s response to the US Department of Transportation’s Mayor’s Challenge for Safer People and Safer Streets, which aims to improve pedestrian and bicycle transportation safety by showcasing effective local actions, empowering local leaders to take action, and promoting partnerships to advance pedestrian and bicycle safety.

Vision Zero requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. More than 20 District government agencies are engaged in the Vision Zero Initiative, including DDOT, Department of Public Works, the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, Metropolitan Police Department, DC TaxiCab Commission, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the DC Office on Aging, DC Public Schools, Fire and Emergency Medical Services, Homeland Security and Management, Office of Unified Communications, Department of Health, the Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Chief Technology Officer, Office of Disability Rights, Office of Planning, Office of the City Administrator, Office of the State Superintendent of Education, the Deputy Mayor for Education, Office of Policy and Legislative Affairs, and the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.”

So why do I highlight the word “bicycle”? It’s a clue to where this folly is trending. The Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) is one of DC’s Biggest Lobbyists for Vision Zero. WABA works in coalition with organizations across the region to advance transportation equity. We also convene the annual Washington Region Vision Zero Summit, which brings together elected officials, decision-makers, advocates, thought leaders, and the private sector to share best practices, insights and innovations to build a safer, more equitable transportation network.

The car and truck are your enemy. The Bike is your friend. Car goes 20+ mph. The average Bike Speed on Flat Terrain is 18 mph. You see if a Bike hits you then, there is a 100% probability that you will live.

WOKE yet?

Arne Karyd, Department of Science and Technology, University of Sweden, in August 2001, wrote: “a vision has to be achievable in a not too distant future, else it is not a vision but a dream, whim or caprice and should be treated accordingly.”

Sweden recommitted to Vision Zero in 2021 after watching their traffic fatality numbers steadily rise since 2013. There newest goals:

To reduce the level of road crashes in urban areas and along the major transport corridors.
To improve road and community safety, particularly for the most vulnerable users of the transport network.
To work closely with the government, private sector, and other stakeholders to develop a coordinated approach and solutions to problems through the delivery of joint road safety projects, and exchange of information on the best practice, development, and the best value for money.

WOKE yet?

The WOKE Lobby sees only one remaining option: eliminate private motorized transportation and freedom of mobility. You see the problem is cars and trucks. Private transportation gives too much leeway to the all-powerful, corrupt driver. We must remove this heinous device from the roadway and give people alternatives: bicycles, walking, public transportation and other vehicle forms that spare the ozone in urban America. Since non-Hispanic Black people (up 23%) are more likely to be involved in crashes then, we must get them off the streets. As we protect them with gun control and rent control then, we must protect them with car control. Ain’t we kind and caring Democrats.

You think that I am playing. WOKE yet?

In Fiscal Year 2017, the DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) granted DC Villages / Capitol Hill Village $160,000 to reduce the number of senior drivers in the City by transitioning them to a volunteer ride program and use of ridesharing.

According to DDOT,”The District’s current speed limit is 25 mph unless otherwise posted. However, many corridors have higher speed limits. If a vehicle traveling at approximately 20 mph strikes a pedestrian, the likelihood of the pedestrian surviving is about 94 percent.” Hence, the overall speed limit in DC must be 20 because no one would die.

“As long as cars are in the picture, the single most effective step a city can take to cut down on the number and severity of crashes is to slow vehicles”, according to Leah Shahum, founder and director of the national nonprofit campaign Vision Zero Network. “That speed reduction can come from redesigning roadways or lowering and better enforcing speed limits.”

You see, even with the best laid plans of mice and men, there is a natural risk of death and injury incurred by anyone living. No matter how much the ideologues advise that their plans, engineering, and schemes will eliminate the risk of death, their prepositions are futile. Whether it is DC, Chicago, New York, or Philly, to name a few, each has seen a rise in traffic fatalities since implementing Vision Zero. If DC does not reach 0 traffic fatalities in 2024 then, what? Will it recommit to the false flag of focus of the “Vision” or will it focus on another pie-in-the-sky, utopian laden device? The elimination of cars and trucks is always a possibility.

WOKE yet?

Countries around the world are looking at new ways to reduce or eliminate car traffic in downtown areas, aiming to reduce collision danger as well as air and noise pollution. It’s a climate thang, you wouldn’t understand. London levies a “congestion charge” to eliminate cars and trucks, the French Capital, Paris, Banned Motor Vehicles for 1 Day, Barcelona is developing car-free “superblocks”, Hamburg has a 20-year plan to eliminate cars downtown, and China, home of the Wuhan Flu, has talked about building a city free of cars from scratch.

“We must first remember that all cities were car-free little more than a century ago,” writes J. H. Crawford, “Cars were never necessary in cities and in many respects they worked against the fundamental purpose of cities: to bring many people together in a space where social, cultural and economic synergies could develop. Because cars require so much space for movement and parking, they work against this objective — they cause cities to expand in order to provide the land cars need.”

The ideologue will say do it again no matter what your lying eyes tell you. Sweden merely said “let’s do it again” with a focus on spreading the good name of our country to all of the world:

“Sweden’s transport safety work is a success. In percentage terms, there has been a sharp reduction in road traffic fatalities since the turn of the millennium, even though the number of road deaths in Sweden was already relatively low. The Vision Zero approach has engendered interest elsewhere in the world and the concept has now been adopted by several other countries and cities outside Sweden. Swedish transport safety work in line with Vision Zero has also been praised by international institutions such as the UN and the EU, and there is substantial international demand for Swedish knowledge and Swedish experience.”

Yes, when it ain’t working DC sell the experience and relive the narrative.

Karyd says that if it didn't work then, save the program and create an epidemic:

“Traffic death could be regarded as an ongoing epidemic of long standing. Its pattern of

infliction includes maybe 99% of the population, as almost all of us are travelers. Only

inmates, the very ill and the very old find themselves protected from the dangers of traffic as they are rarely able to be travelers. Everyone else is in the risk zone. The “road traffic epidemic” has, according to figures not yet double-checked, killed some 65,000 people from (probably) 1911 when the statistics system was revised.”

Yes, call in the Faucians and create a vaccine. Wear three masks while you drive and stay six feet apart from other passengers. What a Karyd!

Aprogressive culture seeks to eliminate the perils and risks of living by removing the liberties and freedoms of those that wish to live. You must be willing to surrender your freedom of mobility and liberty to traveling privately in order to meet the common good of the progressive state. Ask the WABA. They preach, “While WABA believes the bill [DC Vision Zero Enhancement Omnibus Amendment Act in 2019] "had a lot of good stuff in it, functionally it’s a legislative Band-Aid on what should be an executive problem," said Browne. "When it comes to the nuts and bolts of actually making streets safer, progress is just glacial.” Yes, your eveil vehicle must be replaced with good vehicles. Safe street advocates continue to argue that cars and their stronghold over city streets are at the root of dangerous conditions.

Vision Zero is a taxpayer boondoggle that fails to achieve what it is advertised to achieve. Whether in Sweden or in the US, Vision Zero is not proven to drop traffic fatalities to 0. The only plausible way of getting close to that is to eliminate cas and trucks from the road. This is their ultimate plan for those not following along at home.

DC is about to spend $351 million dollars on the utopic pursuit of 0 traffic fatalities. For the Anti-freedom of movement lobby that works out to $1,907,609 for every traffic fatality during Bowser’s term. If that money were divided for each of 937 persons lost to homicide during her tenure then, that would be $374,600 per person. Funny how those seeking transportation equity can not even achieve that in reducing deaths. The second is that ideologues measure the success of Vision Zero not by achieving zero traffic deaths but by adding countries, states, cities and other legislative jurisdictions to their rolls. Sweden admits, “The favourable outcomes and Sweden’s good reputation in the transport safety field are creating the conditions for spreading Swedish expertise and Swedish goods and services. In turn, this can contribute to both improved transport safety around the world and higher exports for Swedish companies”. In the end, it’s not about the 0, it is about the narative. Finally, the real goal of Vision Zero is eliminating private motorized transportation and freedom of mobility and replacing it with a human-powered or motor-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other and mobility heavily regulated by public entities. Your government can determine whether you are essential, whether you get a “jab”, and soon whether you deserve the freedom to drive and liberty to own a car.

WOKE yet?