Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Safety

“Gravity Always Wins”: How the U.S. Can Face the Crisis of Unsafe Bridges

By Tanya Snyder | Dec 20, 2010 | 12 Comments

If you left your grandma’s old wicker chair out on the porch all winter – and the next, and the next, and the next for 20 years – would you still trust that chair to hold you if you sat down? According to Barry LePatner, author of the new book Too Big to Fall: America’s […]

Seatbelts and Tickets Alone Won’t Cure America’s Traffic Death Epidemic

By Tanya Snyder | Nov 17, 2010 | 4 Comments

Motor vehicle crashes caused 28 percent of all deaths among people 24 and under in the United States in 2006. In 2009, nearly 34,000 people died on America’s roads, and that was considered a big improvement over previous years. More and more, it seems, Americans are wondering why our country is so far behind on […]

See a Pattern of Deadly Dump Trucks? Don’t Bother Federal Safety Officials

By Charles Komanoff | Jul 13, 2010 | No Comments

Last Wednesday in Brooklyn, the driver of a private garbage truck ignored a bicyclist riding alongside and crushed him as the truck rounded a corner, according to a preliminary NYPD investigation. Police identified the victim as Eling Rivera, 51, of East New York. Photo: So Cal Metro/Flickr No definitive count is available, but Rivera’s death […]

Arizona Nixes Speed-Limit Enforcement Cameras

By Elana Schor | May 7, 2010 | 7 Comments

In the latest in a series of high-profile conservative moves, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s (R) administration has announced it will stop using cameras to enforce speed limits on the state’s highways — ending a program once billed as a boon to road safety that would also help raise revenue. A speed-camera image of the car […]

Senate Dems Unveil Auto Safety Legislation

By Elana Schor | May 4, 2010 | 3 Comments

Democrats are moving quickly on their plan to take a unified approach to auto safety reforms in the aftermath of the Toyota recalls, with Senate Commerce Committee members releasing a new bill today that would quintuple the maximum existing penalties for carmakers who — like Toyota — fail to promptly notify the public of defective […]

RITA Speaks: What Technology Can Do for Transportation Safety

By Elana Schor | Apr 29, 2010 | 1 Comment

Among the myriad of smaller agencies that comprise the U.S. DOT, the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) tends to stay in the background, not unlike the wonky, computer-hacking sidekicks often found in action movies. RITA’s work could be used to help cyclists steer clear of "dooring" opportunities like this. (Photo: Sidi Ergo) But the […]

Show More Stories