Traffic Safety

Grist digs deeper into the Virginia Speed Hump murder - showing how the street configuration of the suburban neighborhood may have contributed to the rage, and why it's unlikely to see more neighborhoods like it in the future.

September 20, 2010 - Grist

Planning decisions often have significant indirect effects. As planners, our challenge is to clearly describe these impacts and quantify them as much as possible so they can be incorporated into decision making. An example of this is the effect that transportation planning decisions have on human health. These impacts are significant but often overlooked or undervalued in the planning process. I have worked on several research projects that explore the nexus between transport planning decisions and public health, and are developing practical tools for incorporating them into planning. Let me share some of my current thinking about this issue.

September 6, 2010 - Todd Litman

A pedestrian in Park City, UT followed her downloaded Google map onto a four-lane road sans sidewalks. She was hit by a motorist before reaching the median. Lauren Rosenberg is seeking $100,000 in a federal lawsuit.

June 2, 2010 - The Guardian

A preliminary count of all road fatalities in 2009 shows a record low figure of 33,963; almost 9% lower than 2008. The final count is due this summer. While the declining VMT due to a depressed economy was a major factor, the rate declined as well.

March 28, 2010 - The New York Times - Wheels

It's yet another anecdotal reason for cyclists to bike well clear of the 'door zone' - and engineers and planners to ensure that cyclists have room to do so. Megan Charlop's bicycle ricocheted off a car door directly into the path of a city bus.

March 19, 2010 - Daily News

In this op-ed, CA state Senator Leland Yee (D-SF/San Mateo) discusses the result of his legislation to apply double traffic fines, as well as city street improvements, on two of the most dangerous roads in SF, 19th and Van Ness Aves.

January 25, 2010 - San Francisco Examiner

London is attempting to make streets safer for cyclists and motorists by turning off traffic lights in one part of the city for a short amount of time.

September 7, 2009 - The New York Times

A new report identifies ways to incorporate health objectives into transportation and land use planning.

July 27, 2009 - The Convergence Partnership

If you watched or read the news yesterday, then you likely came across the sentencing of Donte Stallworth. Previously known (maybe) for being an NFL role player, Stallworth will serve a 30 day sentence for hitting and killing a pedestrian named Mario Reyes while driving intoxicated here in Miami Beach. The typical sentence for such an offense in Florida is 4 to 15 years. Stallworth will be released just in time for his NFL training camp. How convenient. 

June 17, 2009 - Mike Lydon

Officials are trying to regulate jaywalking of the residents of East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights about reckless walking and driving on the tracks.

June 17, 2009 - Los Angeles Times

Wes Marshall and Norman Garrick, after a study of data from 130,000 car crashes in California, have determined that cities built since since 1950 have more dangerous roads than those built before 1950.

January 30, 2009 - New Urban News

A new study in Houston reveals that the number of crashes at intersections with new red-light cameras has doubled from the time before they were installed.

December 31, 2008 - Houston Chronicle

A paradigm shift is changing the way we think about transportation safety. In the past, traffic safety experts evaluated risk using distance-based units (traffic crashes and casualties per 100 million vehicle-miles or billion vehicle-kilometers), which ignores increases in vehicle traffic as a risk factor, and mobility management as a safety strategy. Yet, we now have overwhelming evidence that the amount people drive has a major impact on their chance of being injured or killed in a traffic accident. Here is a small portion of the evidence:

November 19, 2008 - Todd Litman

Traffic signs on American roadways are so numerous and so distracting to drivers that they are having the opposite effect intended, writes John Staddon.

June 23, 2008 - Atlantic Monthly

A traffic safety study released March 5 by the AAA highlights the enormous costs of traffic crashes, in terms of lives and dollars, to the U.S. The cost exceeds that of congestion while deaths amount to 117 daily.

March 7, 2008 - The Wall Street Journial

Many families move to sprawled, automobile-dependent suburbs because they want a safe place to raise their children. They are mistaken. A smart growth community is actually a much safer and healthier place to live overall.

November 20, 2007 - Todd Litman