On October 15th, 2025, the California State Transportation Authority (CalSTA) and the California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS) announced a joint statement on the importance of reducing road-related injuries and fatalities and using a collaborative, injury prevention approach with an interim goal of reducing fatal and serious injury crashes by 30% over the next 10 years. CalSTA Secretary, Toks Omishakin, and CalHHS Secretary, Kim Johnson, held a joint news conference in Los Angeles to announce the policy near a designated road safety project on the Avalon Boulevard corridor. CalSTA includes departments such as Caltrans, Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), while CalHHS includes departments such as the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). CDPH works with all three of these CalSTA departments.
One goal of the joint policy statement is for both agencies’ staff to utilize the Safe Systems Approach to achieve zero injuries and fatalities by 2050. Another outcome is to relaunch the Zero Traffic Fatalities Task Force (ZTFTF), which was initially convened to help evaluate speed limit setting protocols and explore alternatives which would help reduce crashes as a part of SB 2363 (2018, Friedman)[1]. The joint policy reflects a shared commitment to advance public health and transportation safety through coordinated, multi-agency efforts. This collaboration lays the groundwork for long-term, systemic change toward safer roads across California.
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[1] AB 2363, Friedman. Zero Traffic Fatalities Task Force. Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 650, Statutes of 2018.