Traffic Safety

More States Cracking Down on Slow Drivers in the Passing Lane
Some people just can't help but help themselves to the fast lane.

Drive Safely: Traffic Safety in Short Supply the Monday After Daylight-Saving Time
Another reason to hate the Monday after daylight-saving time goes into effect: a spike in the number of car crashes and traffic fatalities.
Seattle Hoping to Extend a Successful Traffic Safety Project
After repainting the lanes on Rainier Avenue in Seattle, the street works better for everyone. If it's that easy, why isn't the model implemented more widely?

Scottish Town Tackles Speeders with Blow Dryers
Mimicking traffic cops, local townsfolk have resorted to speed checking passing cars with blow dryers.

Walking While Black: The Racial Disparity in Pedestrian Fatalities
Pedestrians of color are more likely to be killed in traffic crashes.

Report: U.S. Traffic Fatalities Rise, Again
Initial data from the National Safety Council (NSC) suggest that more than 40,000 Americans died on the country's roads in 2016 for the first time in a decade.

A New Policy Agenda for Autonomous Vehicles: It's Time to Lead Innovation
A call for planners, policy makers, and the car industry to assertively lead the policy development in anticipation of the coming wave of autonomous vehicle technology.

Oakland's Telegraph Avenue: A Resounding Example of Street Redesign Success
Oakland's Telegraph Avenue underwent a dramatic reconfiguration in April 2016. Since then traffic collisions have declined and walking and biking is way up.
Case Study of an Unsafe Street
Street Road, a thoroughfare cutting through the Philadelphia suburb of Bensalem, is a public safety disaster. PennDOT is investing in safety along the road, but locals say much more needs to be done.

Want Safer Streets? Then Slow Down
Making the case for reduced speed limits is a matter of life and death.

Florida Home to 8 of the 10 Deadliest Cities for Pedestrians
Smart Growth America has released its annual Dangerous by Design report, showing that many older, car-oriented cities are the country's most dangerous.

New Ohio Law Allows Drivers to Run Red Lights
The new law couldn't reasonably be described as an "Idaho Stop" for cars, but it's still worth questioning the wisdom of opening a traffic safety grey area.

New York Court Ruling: Cities Are Liable for Unsafe Streets
Traffic safety and Vision Zero advocates scored a major victory recently at the New York Court of Appeals.

Austin Still Needs Permission From Texas to Lower its Speed Limits
A decision by the city of Austin to support lower speed limits on some city streets will remain a symbolic gesture until the state allows local governments to establish their own speed limits.

A Christmas Gift From Cambridge: A 'Watch for Bikes' Sticker
Drivers get a sticker for their rear view mirrors, and bikers get the gift of knowing that people behind the wheel share the responsibility for road safety.
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.

Thinking Beyond the (Autonomous) Vehicle: The Promise of Saved Lives
While car companies and federal regulators concentrate on the mechanisms of automated vehicles, they're still overlooking the ability for the car to connect with the outside world. The benefit of such a focus could come in lives saved.

Crunching the Safety Data Reveals the Need to Improve Traffic Lights
After completing an eight-year study of traffic collisions, the Seattle Department of Transportation realized that one way to immediately improve traffic safety would be to improve signalization an key intersections.

Lower Speed Limits Are the Law in Seattle
The city of Seattle moved quickly in enacting a speed limit change on streets around downtown. File this under real change to achieve the goals of Vision Zero.

Pedestrian Shaming Is the Wrong Way to Vision Zero
It seems like pedestrian safety campaigns that focus on the errors and guilt of pedestrians miss the point. Shaming pedestrians will not keep them safe, but safer streets will.
Pagination
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.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service