The fourth national road safety program Road Safety Strategy (RSS) 2025 was launched by Council of Ministers of Transportation and Highway Safety in January 2016. The vision of RSS 2025 is Towards Zero: the Safest Roads in the World. In order to determine progress in terms of the safest roads in the world, it is necessary to compared Canada’s fatality and serious injury rates with those of member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which includes most of the high income countries in the world. These rates are typically calculated by dividing the annual number of fatalities and serious injuries by the estimated vehicle kilometres traveled (VKT). In addition, these rates are also used for comparing provincial and territorial jurisdictions. Therefore, VKT is an important measure for monitoring progress on road safety.
Statistics Canada conducted the Canadian Vehicle Survey (CVS) for Transport Canada (TC) starting in 2001 which served as a source for VKT estimates for Canada. The CVS used a diary approach where drivers recorded their trips indicating distance traveled as well as purpose of the trip and the time traveled. Given challenges with response rate and data accuracy, the survey was terminated in 2009.
Following the CVS cancelation, CCMTA commissioned the development of a model for estimating VKT based on fuel sales and econometric indicators (e.g., Gross Domestic Product, unemployment rate, etc.). This model was used to estimate national VKT in Canada between 2010 and 2014 and has been used in the calculation of fatality and serious injury rates.
In 2011, the Canadian Vehicle Use Survey (CVUS) was launched, jointly funded by TC, Environment Canada (EC) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). Participants agreed to the installation of a data logger in their vehicle to record the length of vehicle trips, as well as fuel usage, vehicle speed and acceleration, sudden braking, etc. The survey was conducted in various Canadian jurisdictions between 2011 and 2016 however it was suspended by Transport Canada in late 2016.
With the introduction of RSS 2025, CCMTA will need to continue to measure VKT between 2016 and 2025 for reporting on road safety progress in Canada. As such, CCMTA would like to re-assess the estimation of VKT in Canada and consider the various methodologies that can be used to report on Canada’s fatality and serious injury rates.
2.0 Project Objective
The objective of this project is to identify the various options for estimating VKT in Canada and their associated risks, benefits, and costs. The information gathered would help CCMTA and its’ members decide how to measure VKT in the future.
