Pedestrian safety
Basics
“Adam Ruins Everything” Explains the Origins of “Jaywalking”
Think the origins of "jaywalking" in 1920s car industry propaganda are too esoteric for a mainstream audience? Watch this clip from truTV's "Adam Ruins Everything" that adapts research from Peter Norton's Fighting Traffic, a history of how motordom conquered American streets in the early 20th century. It's a good sign when productions backed by the entertainment industry start devoting attention to topics like this.
October 14, 2015
#DontBlockMyWalk Shows What Nashville Pedestrians Are Up Against
A Twitter campaign launched by Bike Walk Nashville is giving people a taste of what it's like to walk the sidewalks of the Music City -- and it's not pretty.
October 6, 2015
How to Make Big Box Stores Less Terrible for Walking: 8 Expert Tips
It's no coincidence that the most dangerous streets in many communities are the ones in front of big box stores.
September 8, 2015
Highway Safety Group Tells Pedestrians to Be Safe on Roads Built to Kill Them
The Governors’ Highway Safety Association wants you to know it's working really hard on pedestrian and bicycle safety. The coalition of state road safety agencies just put out another report in a series of well-intentioned but off-base attempts to draw attention to the issue.
August 27, 2015
Meet the Man on a Mission to Make Florida Walkable and Bikeable
Billy Hattaway just might have the most challenging job in any American transportation agency. As the Florida Department of Transportation's lead official on bicycle and pedestrian safety, he's charged with making Florida -- consistently rated among the deadliest states for walking and biking -- safe for people to get around under their own power.
March 30, 2015
AASHTO Chief: Don’t Blame Street Design for Cyclist Deaths
This is a pretty revealing (read: depressing) exchange between a U.S. representative and the president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, which represents state DOTs.
March 18, 2015
Mother Jones Rang in 2015 By Blaming Drunk People for Getting Hit By Cars
This was the New Year's revelry advice from Mother Jones, the left-wing, reader-supported magazine: Whatever you do, don't walk anywhere after drinking. That's because, Maddie Oatman writes, it makes you more likely to be struck by a driver.
January 6, 2015
Life-Saving Truck Design Fix Sidelined By Federal Inaction
This is the second post in a Streetsblog NYC series about safety features for large vehicles. Part one examined the case for truck side guards and New York City's attempt to require them for its fleet.
December 22, 2014
Meet the Mom on a Mission to Bring Sidewalks to Nashville
Stacy Dorris became an advocate for safer streets after a failed attempt to walk to the park by her home in Nashville, not far from Vanderbilt University.
August 29, 2014
Tampa, Florida: A Case Study in Saddling the Poor With Traffic Violence
You'd be hard-pressed to fund a more deadly place for pedestrians in all of the U.S. than Tampa's Hillsborough Avenue.
August 22, 2014