By Emil Seidel, Edgy Labs
By Todd Litman, Planetizen
By JEFF SPECK, City Lab
-> A recent Volpe report summarizes their research and recommendations supporting San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency efforts to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety through truck-based strategies. Specifically, this initial report focuses on side guards, which are vehicle-based safety devices designed to prevent pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists from being run over by a large truck’s rear wheels in a side-impact collision. "Vision Zero San Francisco Truck Side Guard Initiative: Technical Assessment and Recommendations" http://bit.ly/2dt7MQc
-> A recent CDC report, "Vital Signs: Motor Vehicle Injury Prevention — United States and 19 Comparison Countries" (http://bit.ly/2dQoyIa), and Economist Magazine analysis, "America’s Road-safety Record is the Worst in the Rich World" (http://econ.st/2dCvCuh), indicate that, despite huge investments in traffic safety programs and safety engineering, the United States has, by far, the highest per capita traffic fatality rate among peer countries. The United States has high traffic causality rates despite huge investments in safer roads, safer vehicles, and traffic safety programs. These efforts did reduce the U.S. traffic deaths rate by 31 percent between 2000 and 2013, but during that period peer countries reduced their crash rate a much more impressive 55.1 percent. These very high traffic casualty rates (several times higher than peer countries) can be explained by high (about double) per capita annual vehicle mileage and automobile-oriented community design. http://bit.ly/2d8o66V
-> Autocar reports Volvo has developed an advanced driver assist program for its bus models that can detect and help prevent collisions with pedestrians and cyclists. The system, which uses a camera mounted on the vehicle’s exterior, will be rolled out from the start of next year on European buses. The camera processes images through complex algorithms to detect potential hazards, with its primary focus being to spot pedestrians and cyclists who could come into contact with the bus. To alert the driver of a hazard or potential impact, lights and sound signals are projected in the cabin. If an impact is imminent, the pedestrian or cyclist is also warned with the automatic sounding of the bus’s horn. http://bit.ly/2dHTrgT
-> StreetsBlogUSA lists four common problems with how pedestrian deaths are covered in American media and why reporters need to change their approach to traffic violence. 1) The default stance of most coverage is to blame victims for their own deaths, 2) Most local news reports entirely ignore the design of the street where the collision happened. But the epidemic of pedestrian deaths can’t be separated from street conditions... http://bit.ly/2dpV48y
-> Surveying the mounds of evidence connecting Complete Streets with improved physical activity and health, law student Samantha Chapman makes a strong case for state-level implementation in Indiana. Her article, published in the Indiana Health Law Review (Vol. 12, No. 1), should be reference for folks working in other states, too. (Combating Obesity One Step at a Time: Why Indiana Should Implement Statewide Complete Streets Legislation http://bit.ly/1IJ3akX)
-> 8 80 Cities recently launched its Healthiest Practice Open Streets website (http://bit.ly/1KygWnK). ‘Open Streets’ are community-based programs that temporarily open selected streets to people, by closing them to cars. By doing this the streets become places where people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds can come out and improve their health. The Healthiest Practice Open Streets program is a tried and tested best practice model. This new website features: 1) A toolkit to help plan a new Healthiest Practice Open Streets program or improve an existing program, 2) A video describing the Healthiest Practice Open Streets concept to share with others, among other resources.
-> Rudder, a navigation app, takes into account streetlight data for your city to provide you with the most well-lit path home. Once you are on route, the app will give you an easy-to-follow turn-by-turn progress bar at the bottom of your screen, giving you tangible context for how much longer you will be walking until your next turn. Some of the app’s most notable features include a light meter - a unique feature that lets you quickly gauge how well-lit your current surroundings are - as well as a progress meter for the entire trip, and for each individual step of your travel to show you just how much further until you arrive at your destination. Future features will include sharing your travel progress with friends and family to give them a heads up when you get home safely. Data for 12 cities to date. http://bit.ly/1JQSgUT