Toward Zero Deaths
Our mission: To create a culture for which traffic fatalities and serious injuries are no longer acceptable through the integrated application of education, engineering, enforcement, and emergency medical and trauma services. These efforts will be driven by data, best practices, and research.
Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) is a Minnesota partnership led by the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Health, in cooperation with the Minnesota State Patrol, the Federal Highway Administration, Minnesota county engineers, and the Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota.
TZD Spotlight
High school program uses mock crashes to teach teen driving safety
FOX 9 News recently profiled Centennial High School's Every 15 Minutes program, which relies on a dose of harsh reality to send the message that driving drunk is dangerous and no one is invincible on the roads. The program includes a realistic mock crash scenario that tells the stories of students and their parents before, during, and after a fatal crash. Teens are also asked to write and share their own obituaries and participate in presentations by police officers as part of the program.
Website tells the stories behind traffic fatality stats
The Minnesota Crash Victims Memorial website, created by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, honors the individual story behind each traffic fatality—and the teachable moment that comes with many of them.
Traffic Safety in the News
- Elk River, St. Michael and Winona Teens Battle for Top "Buckle Up" TV PSA
- Spring Is in the Air — And Extra DWI Patrols Are on the Roads
- Minnesota's Biggest Killer of Teens: Traffic Crashes
- Bicycle riding up, fatalities down in Minnesota
- Read this text: Cops just ticketed you
- No LOL Matter — Extra Texting, Distracted Driving Enforcement April 19
- Minnesota's Primary Seat Belt Law Saves Lives, Money
- 246 O'Busted for DWI During St. Patrick's Day Celebrations
- No Blarney — Extra DWI Patrols on St. Patrick's Day
- Deaths Highlight that Teens, Young Adults Not Buckling Up in the Back
- Cable barriers might have saved four teens killed on I-94
Upcoming Events
2012 Toward Zero Deaths Conference
Save the date for the 2012 Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths annual conference, which will be held October 22 and 23 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Bloomington, Minnesota.
2012 Stakeholder Breakfasts
Mark your calendars for the 2012 TZD Stakeholder Breakfasts. These quarterly meetings give attendees a chance to discuss recent TZD efforts and progress, and feature a presentation on a traffic safety-related topic.
Best Practices Webinar: Toward Zero Deaths
The Center for Excellence in Rural Safety will hold a webinar highlighting the Toward Zero Deaths initiative as a national strategy for highway safety on May 22 from 11 a.m. to noon CDT.
Recent Events
2011 Toward Zero Deaths Conference
View presentations from the 2011 Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths annual conference, which was held November 16 and 17, 2011, in Duluth, Minnesota.
Regional TZD workshop presentations available
Presentations for most sessions from the Southeastern Minnesota TZD and Northeastern Minnesota TZD 2011 workshops are now available online.