Recent Streetsblog USA posts about VMT

America Has a Terrible Traffic Safety Record Because We Drive Too Much

By Angie Schmitt | | 54 Comments
Even though the U.S. traffic fatality rate per mile driven has fallen by two-thirds in the last 50 years, America today still has the deadliest road system per capita in the developed world. Much of the improvement from safer driving and better emergency care has been wiped out by increases in total traffic. The American approach to traffic safety has emphasized seatbelt use, vehicle standards, […]

Revisiting the Peak Car Debate

By Tony Dutzik | | 15 Comments
Cross-posted from the Frontier Group. I’ve never liked the term “peak car.” First, it was always unclear exactly what was supposed to be peaking – total vehicle travel, per-capita travel, car ownership, or all of the above? Second, like peak oil before it, “peak car” applies a catchy name to a collection of concepts that […]

Court: Don’t Spend Billions on Outdated Travel Forecasts

By Joe Cortright | | 2 Comments
Cross-posted from City Observatory.  Last week, the Washington Post reported that the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., has ordered new ridership projections for the proposed Purple Line light rail line, which will connect a series of Maryland suburbs. Like any multi-billion dollar project that serves a densely settled metropolitan area—and this one connects some […]

4 Ways Road Builders Game the Numbers to Justify Highways

By Angie Schmitt | | 15 Comments
The people who make the case for highways often present themselves as unbiased technicians, simply providing evidence to an audience subject to irrational bias. But traffic forecasting is not a neutral, dispassionate exercise. It is subject to all sorts of incentives, beliefs, and assumptions that can skew the results in a particular direction. Intentionally or not, forecasters frequently exaggerate predicted […]
Show More Stories