The concept focuses on road design and policy that reduces the likelihood of severe injuries and deaths.
Florida is moving toward a ‘Safe System’ approach to traffic safety as road fatalities in the state rise, reports Susan Giles Wantuck for WUSF. According to Pei-Sung Lin of the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida, the approach acknowledges that humans make mistakes and aims to reduce the likelihood that those mistakes will be fatal.
For example, since crashes at higher speeds are more likely to result in serious injuries and deaths, designing roads with roundabouts, low speed limits, and other traffic calming features can improve safety by forcing drivers to slow down. “[F]or bike riders and pedestrians, a crash at 15 miles per hour, instead of one at 45, may be one they can survive.”
Lin also explains that “redundancy is crucial.” The article adds, “What that means is safe people, safe roads and the latter can be accomplished by providing ‘clearer signage, pavement markings, regular pavement friction, clear traffic control devices ... that also will contribute to protection of our users.’”
FULL STORY: Florida is adopting Safe System Approach to improve safety, reduce traffic deaths and severe injuries
Banning Right Turns on Red Just One Step Toward Vision Zero
Experts caution that blanket bans on right turns on red make only a slight contribution to reducing fatal crashes, and other interventions are needed to bring down traffic fatalities.
Moving Beyond Crash Statistics to Understand Road Safety
Why measuring traffic deaths alone doesn’t paint a full picture.
Washington Focuses Road Safety Efforts on Individuals, Neglecting Design
Legislative efforts to reduce traffic deaths could move the needle toward Vision Zero, but state leaders failed to commit infrastructure funds to making structural improvements.
Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?
Americans May Be Stuck — But Why?
Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?
Research Shows More Roads = More Driving
A national study shows, once again, that increasing road supply induces additional vehicle travel, particularly over the long run.
Gary, Indiana to Expand Transit Service, Bike Share
The city plans to launch a bike share system in April and expand service on its bus routes.
Pittsburgh Rolls Out Electric School Buses
Pittsburgh Public Schools has launched its first electric school buses, with plans to fully electrify its fleet over the next 14 months, aiming to create a cleaner, more sustainable transportation system supported by new charging infrastructure.
Concrete to Community: A Schoolyard Makeover in West Philly
With guidance from the Trust for Public Land, third graders at Overbrook Elementary are leading the redesign of their asphalt schoolyard into a vibrant green space, learning valuable skills and creating lasting community impact in the process.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Moreno Valley
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland
Newport County Development Council: Connect Greater Newport