House of Sweden

The Safe Way Home

Almost 40,000 people lost their lives on U.S. roadways in 2005, resulting in endless family tragedies and social costs. On March 6th, the Embassy of Sweden, together with the Swedish Trade Council, hosted a conference, "The Safe Way Home", at House of Sweden in Washington, D.C. The event provided a forum for policy makers, researchers and experts from the industry to share their experiences in improving safety on our roads.

Sweden is among the countries with the lowest number of traffic fatalities in relation to its population. Traffic safety efforts in Sweden are based on ”Vision Zero”, the belief that it is unacceptable for anyone to be killed or injured for life in traffic. The implementation of these efforts, and examples of projects and results, will be highlighted during the conference. Several presentations of U.S. traffic policy and strategy for the future were also part of the agenda.

Key speakers included Roger Johansson, Chief Strategist for Traffic Safety at the Swedish Road Administration; Ronald Medford, Senior Associate Administrator for Vehicle Safety at the U.S. Department of Transportation, and safety experts from Volvo Cars and the Volvo Group.