Traffic Safety

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