Traffic Fatalities
Want Safer Streets? Then Slow Down
Making the case for reduced speed limits is a matter of life and death.
Expect Passenger Vehicles to Talk to Each Other in the Near Future
The U.S. Department of Transportation wants light-duty vehicles to communicate with each other via advanced technology, known as connected vehicle technology, to prevent crashes. The vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) rule would be phased in over five years.
One Year Later: No Progress Toward Vision Zero in D.C.
The death toll on the streets of Washington, D.C. are unchanged a year after the District launched its Vision Zero initiative.
Horrific School Bus Crash in Chattanooga Results In Five Counts of Vehicular Homicide
The driver has been arrested and charged with the deaths of five children who died at the scene of the one-vehicle crash in which the bus slammed into a tree on Monday afternoon. The National Transportation Safety Board is on the scene.
U.S. DOT Adopts Vision Zero
"With this campaign, we’re making clear that zero is the only acceptable number of deaths on our roads."
Planetizen Week in Review: September 10, 2016
The fastest two minutes in planning news.
A 'Call to Action' to Find Reasons for Increase in Traffic Fatalities
The U.S. Department of Transportation wants to hear from the public to help explain the 35,092 traffic deaths last year, an increase of 2,348 people from 2014. It has issued a 'call to action' to help interpret the data.
How U.S Road Safety Compares to Other Countries
That is, not very well.
Traffic Deaths Take a Big Jump in 2016
A 9 percent increase in fatalities on the nation's highways compared to the same period in 2015 does not appear to be a result of increased driving, which jumped 3.3 percent during that period, but rather an increase in the rate of fatal crashes.
Red Light Cameras Receive Endorsement from Influential Governors' Group
Calling it 'mind boggling' that municipalities are removing 'proven safety tools,' the Governors Highway Safety Association strongly endorsed the use of the controversial red light cameras to 'to improve safety for all road users.'
Study: Uber Doesn't Reduce Drunk Driving Fatalities
The debate about the benefits of transportation network companies, like Uber, continues.
Disabling Red Light Cameras Increases Traffic Fatalities
A new study shows what happens when cities remove red light cameras, which have become targeted by many motorists and eliminated by at least 158 cities. Fatal crashes increased 30 percent compared with area cities that kept the controversial cameras.
Will First Fatality Affect the Development of Self-Driving Cars?
A May 7 crash of a Model S Tesla in Florida may have outsized implications for the future of driverless technology. The details of the single-fatality crash were made public in a June 30 blog by Tesla though they were reported immediately to NHTSA.
2015 Road Toll: 35,200 Fatalities
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released preliminary fatality estimates for 2015. Deaths jumped by 2,525, an increase of 7.7 percent over 2014. Pedestrians and bicyclists saw the biggest increases.
Drinking Behind New Mexico's High Pedestrian Fatality Rate
New Mexico had the nation's highest pedestrian fatality rate in 2014. Alcohol was a factor in over half the pedestrian fatalities in New Mexico, while nationally it's a third. According to the Albuquerque PD, drunk pedestrians are primarily to blame.
Sunday Satire: What if We Shut Down Roads Like We Shut Down Transit?
Imagine if the federal government treated road safety as seriously as it does transit safety.
Automotive Braking Improvements: Pedestrian and Cyclist Benefits Included
NHTSA's announcement that automatic emergency braking will become standard on almost all new vehicles by 2022 will have dramatic safety implications for drivers and passengers, but will it prevent crashes with pedestrians and cyclists?
How San Antonio Is Working Toward Vision Zero
A post on the Rivard Report details the efforts underway in San Antonio, Texas, to reduce traffic fatalities.
National Safety Council Reports Huge Jump in 2015 Traffic Fatalities
According to preliminary estimates from the National Safety Council, 38,300 people were killed on U.S. roads in 2015, an 8 percent jump from 2014. In fact, the annual increase is the most in half a century. Note that the figure differs from NHTSA's.
Federal Report Finds Increasing Numbers of Traffic Deaths
With more driving comes a lot more deaths on the nation's roads. The question is why traffic deaths increase at a greater rate than vehicle miles traveled.
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.
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
