DRCOG Announces Launch of Public Outreach Campaign to Reduce "Slow Speeding"

The Denver Regional Council of Governments is launching a public outreach campaign to educate motorists about the dangers of “slow speeding” with the goal of reducing injuries and fatalities in Denver Metro Area neighborhoods.

“The majority of fatal crashes don’t happen on highways. They happen in suburban neighborhoods or city streets at low speeds of 40 mph or so,” said Steve Erickson, Director of Communications and Marketing for DRCOG. “A vehicle traveling at 40 mph is 60 percent more likely to cause injury or fatality to a pedestrian than one going just 20 mph. Our campaign aims to educate drivers that most fatal speeding doesn’t look the way they picture it, and we hope with increased awareness, behavior change follows.”

The campaign will use radio, billboards, bus tails, a custom landing page, social media, and outreach to partners in city and county government, neighborhood associations, and other government agencies. The campaign is part of the Regional Vision Zero effort -- a transportation safety philosophy based on the principle that loss of life is not an acceptable price to pay for mobility. Vision Zero recognizes that humans make mistakes and therefore the transportation system should be designed to minimize the consequences.

According to Taking Action on Regional Vision Zero, a DRCOG plan from June 2020, 93 percent of respondents said traffic safety is either their top concern or is important relative to other issues in the Denver region. Additionally, 82 percent of respondents were willing to add one or more minutes to their commute to improve safety.

“With school back in session and commutes returning to their pre-pandemic levels, traffic safety is on a lot of our minds,” added Erickson. “Our hope is that our campaign helps people understand that small actions to reduce speed on neighborhood streets will greatly impact the safety of our communities. We all want to get home safely. This campaign is a way of helping to ensure that happens.”