This report from Strong Towns advocates for a shift in how cities analyze automobile crashes, moving beyond assigning blame to identify all contributing factors, especially those related to street design. It critiques the current narrow approach focused on human error and proposes adopting a “Crash Analysis Studio” model, similar to medical mortality reviews and NTSB investigations, to learn from these events. The report highlights recurring design flaws, such as high-speed urban roads and inadequate provisions for pedestrians and cyclists, as significant contributors to crashes. It offers six key recommendations for local leaders, including establishing crash response teams and analysis studios, using temporary safety measures, updating street standards, making safety a core responsibility, and conducting bike/walk audits. Through case studies, the report demonstrates how the Crash Analysis Studio approach can lead to actionable insights and safer street designs. Ultimately, the report urges municipalities to prioritize learning from crashes to proactively build safer environments rather than solely focusing on liability.

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