The SAFE LANE COALITION is a partnership of organizations and community members that aspire to eliminate fatalities and severe injuries on our transportation network.
WHAT WE DO
Year after year, Lane County consistently has a disproportion of fatalities per capita compared to other counties in Oregon. In 2019, the most recent annual data available for Lane County, 39 fatal crashes occurred, an increase of 22% from 2018. Risky and dangerous driving like speeding, impaired driving, and being distracted while driving are consistently the leading cause of preventable traffic deaths.
In 2020, 508 Oregonians were killed in traffic crashes – a 17-year high we have not seen since 2003. Annual traffic deaths in Lane County had been steadily rising in 2018 and 2019 however traffic deaths surged in 2020 due to increasing reckless driving even though there was a decline in driving during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Safe Lane Transportation Coalition (SLTC) works to reduce the number of severe and fatal crashes in Lane County by using the strengths of the member organizations to influence and establish transportation safety policies, programs, and practices. The coalition accomplishes this through selecting and implementing specific strategies that address DUII prevention, speed reduction, and traffic safety education and outreach.
BACKGROUND
In 2015, the Central Lane Metropolitan Planning Organization (CLMPO) and Lane County began collaborating on an innovative planning process to address the growing need to prioritize safety throughout our transportation system. Their efforts created a regional safety action plan, The Safe Lane, that set the groundwork for systematic changes to our transportation system. To implement the vision and goals set out in the Safe Lane Action Plan, CLMPO and Lane County, with the support from the Oregon Department of Transportation, created the Safe Lane Transportation Coalition. This program focuses on reducing fatal and severe crashes in our region through education, outreach, and enforcement efforts.
REGIONAL SAFETY PLANNING
In 2015 and 2016 coalition partners came together to develop a Transportation Safety Action Plan that serves Lane County. In 2017, the Metropolitan Policy Committee adopted the Central Lane Transportation Safety Action Plan.
Oregon has long been a leader in transportation safety through the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Transportation Safety Division. ODOT has developed a statewide Transportation Safety Action Plan (TSAP). The Oregon (TSAP) establishes a set of actions that Oregonians have identified as steps to a safer travel environment.
Building on the success and partnerships of this planning process, the MPO and Lane County with support from ODOT launched the Safe Lane Coalition. Safe Lane Coalition implements the vision the laid out in the Transportation Safety Action Plan and focuses on reducing fatal and severe crashes in our region through education, outreach, and enforcement efforts.
Contact Us
Drew Pfefferle
Safe Lane Coalition Coordinator
859 Willamette Street, Suit 500
Eugene, Oregon 97401
