It was 20 years ago that state public safety officials launched the Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) program to reduce crashes resulting in fatalities and serious injuries.
The initiative proved to be one of the most successful in the nation as highway deaths in Minnesota dropped from just under 700 in 2003 to half that a decade later.
But over the past 10 years, traffic deaths have largely plateaued, and in recent years have spiked as drivers drove faster and were impaired more often.
"The pandemic wiped out all the gains we made," said Mike Hanson, director of the the state Department of Public Safety's Office of Traffic Safety.
In a push to give TZD a reset, Hanson and the DPS asked the Legislature to invest in traffic safety. And lawmakers came through with $2 million to fund the newly created Advisory Council on Traffic Safety.
"This is state money we never had before," Hanson said, noting that TZD has been funded with federal money, which came with specific purposes and directives on how to spend it. "State money will let us do things federal dollars didn't let us do."
What that exactly entails will be fleshed out as the council holds its second meeting later this fall. The group met for the first time two weeks ago.
But there is a framework to guide the council's 33 members representing agencies such as the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the State Patrol, the Minnesota Safety Council, Minnesota Trucking Association, Operation Lifesaver, DPS, and the state Health Department.
