NH Driving Toward Zero
One Death is Too Many
Don't Drive Distracted. Eyes Up; Phone Down
April is National Distracted Driver awareness month. Distracted driving is one of the biggest factors in crashes.
Distracted Driving is any activity that takes the focus and attention away from driving. Commonly in the forms of:
- Cellphone use
- Reaching for an item
- Eating/Drinking
- Engaging in conversation
If you need to use your phone, find a safe place to park and use your device. If you have trouble controlling the use of your device, then it is advised to place the item out of reach where it will not be a distraction.
When getting behind the wheel, be an example to your family and friends by putting your phone away. You may see other people doing it, but that doesn’t mean texting and driving is a “normal” acceptable or safe behavior. Listen to your passengers: If they see you texting while driving and tell you to put your phone away, put it down.
Safety Tip for Passengers
• Speak up if your friends are texting while driving - tell them to stop.
• Offer to make calls or respond to messages for the driver.
For more information, visit www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving.
See the PSA below from NHTSA
Information provided by NHTSA and FHWA
An additional PSA on Distracted Driving by Pinkerton Academy.
In order to reduce fatalities and serious injuries we must all take responsibility for our actions. Roadway safety is a shared responsibility.
- NHDOT Partners
- Safe Driving Pledge, Educational Material and Grants
- Recent Events
- News Articles
- Critical Emphasis Areas
As a partner of the NHDOT Drive Toward Zero Program you can provide education and feedback to your friends, family, and community regarding safe driving practices. It takes everyone united to create safe roads for all. In this section we have provided educational tools for you and your family to begin a new, safe journey while on the road.
NHDOT is committed to roadway safety for all and firmly believe that one death is too many. The Driving Toward Zero program will be reaching out and connecting with towns, schools, public events, and the community to raise awareness of the mission to reduce roadway deaths to zero. By identifying common causes of accidents and connecting with partners and users who can facilitate change, either on a town or government level or with concerned parents teaching their teens how to drive, we strive to achieve our mission.
Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP)
Community Alliance for Teen Safety
New England Traffic Safety Education Association
Brain Injury Association of New Hampshire
New Hampshire Teen Driver Program
University of New Hampshire Technology Transfer Center (LTAP)
NH DOT Safe Driving Pledge
It takes everyone working together to create safer roads for New Hampshire. Take the pledge to partner with NH DOT and help us reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries. YOU need to be accountable for your actions!
- Take the Pledge - By taking the pledge and committing to be a safe driver, we will send you a quarterly newsletter updating you on the latest efforts of the DTZ campaign and provide recent data.
Educational Handouts
- Teen Driver "Rules for the Car"
- DTZ - Teen Driving Poster
- DTZ - Buckle Up!
- Distracted Driving
- Rumble Strips
- Rumble Strip Noise Thermometer
- DTZ - One Bad Decision Poster
- Motorcycles
- Child Seats
Educational Videos
Grants
- National Safety Council - Road to Zero Grant
- Safe Roads For All Grant Program - SS4A Grant
March 21, 2025 - Epping High School - 200+ students
March 19, 2025 - Bedford High School - 200+ students
March 18, 2025 - Merrimack Valley High School - 300+ students
February 24, 2025 - NH DOT Fatality Summit
New Hampshire DOT hosted a Fatality Summit in Concord to bring together Fire, Police, EMS, and DPW professionals to discuss how to improve the safety of the roadways and increase cooperation between agencies. Over 100 attendees engaged with each other and provided feedback on what needs to change in order to achieve the goal of reducing roadway fatalities by 50% by 2030.
Summit held for first responders as traffic deaths rise in NH
January 27 - Feb 10, 2025 - Driving Toward Zero was on the road with Thinkfast Interactive providing an engaging and informative presentation to High Schools across NH.
Thinkfast Interactive setup - Safe driving and pop culture trivia were mixed for an hour of fun! At the end, 4 students are selected to compete in a game show format for Amazon gift cards. The finalists had to apply the knowledge learned throughout the show in order to win.
Milford High School Newport High School
Windham High School Woodsville High School
January 9, 2025 - Driving Toward Zero was at Colebrook Academy speaking to the High School classes.
December 19, 2024 - Driving Toward Zero was at Sanborne Regional High School speaking with 300 Juniors and Seniors.
Unfortunately, not everyone is educated on the importance of road safety. The below stories show the aftermath of horrible incidents which has impacted the lives of many others. Death and life altering injuries impact more than just those directly involved in a crash. Keep this in mind as you take the wheel. Drive Safe. Drive Responsibility. Drive Toward Zero.
Roundabout crash in Lebanon, TN
The crashes linked below all involve drivers under 21 that occurred in Fall 2024.
Fatal crash in Exeter, NH - September 13, 2024
Fatal crash in Dublin, NH - September 20, 2024
Fatal crash in Francistown, NH - September 21, 2024
Fatal crash in New Ipswitch, NH - September 21, 2024
Fatal crash in Bow, NH - November 21, 2024
March 26, 2025
March 22, 2025
January 14, 2025 - Law Enforcement seek harsher penalties for speeding
November 19, 2024 - NH Voted Safest State for Youth Drivers
October 13, 2024 - Driving Toward Zero Program returns to promote safe driving
The roadways can be a dangerous place and there are numerous variables that must be considered to improve safety. The link below will provide you with information on the following areas:
- Adolescent Drivers
- Older Drivers
- Distracted Driving
- Impaired Driving
- Speeding
- Vulnerable Roadway Users
- Crash Locations
- Motorcycles
Driving Toward Zero Critical Emphasis Areas
The Safe System Approach is a holistic framework designed to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries by recognizing human vulnerability and emphasizing a proactive, multi-layered strategy. This approach shifts the focus from solely preventing crashes to reducing their severity when they do occur. It is widely adopted by transportation agencies, including the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the Vision Zero initiative.
Key Principles:
- Humans Make Mistakes
- Human Bodies are Vulnerable
- Safety is a Shared Responsibility
- Redundancy and Proactive Design
- Safety Over Efficiency
By understanding and adopting these principles we can work towards safer roadways for all. See below for more information on the Safe System Approach.
Eliminating fatalities on New Hampshire roadways is an important vision and the driving force behind this plan and the coalition that united in its development. It is also an important vision for the public, all of whom travel New Hampshire’s roadways—by car, motorcycle, truck, bicycle, or even on foot—day and night under all types of weather conditions.
Objective: Our mission is to create a safety culture where even one death is too many, through a collaborative effort of both public and private entities, as well as the implementation of education, enforcement, engineering, and emergency management solutions.
Goal: Our vision is to reduce the number of fatal and severe injury crashes on New Hampshire roadways to ZERO. Though our overall goal is to reach zero fatalities, we have set a plan goal of reducing the number of fatalities and severe injuries by 50 percent by the year 2030.