Traffic
Streetsblog Basics
Mott Haven Residents Rally for Safe Streets and Truck Enforcement
Early Saturday afternoon, about 25 people gathered at the corner of St. Annes Avenue and East 138th Street in the South Bronx, protesting heavy truck traffic and deadly driving in the Mott Haven neighborhood.
April 8, 2013
Streetfacts: Americans Are Driving Less
We continue our Streetfacts series by looking at the data on driving in the U.S. Per-capita driving has declined every year since 2005. That's not a blip, it's now an 8-year trend.
April 2, 2013
For Eighth Year in a Row, the Average American Drove Fewer Miles in 2012
For decades -- through the rise of the two-car household, women entering the workforce, the growth of the exurbs -- Americans reliably put more miles on their cars every year.
February 27, 2013
NSC: 36,200 Americans Killed in Traffic in 2012, First Increase in 7 Years
After seven years of declines, traffic deaths in America rose again in 2012, according to a preliminary estimate by the National Safety Council.
February 21, 2013
Two NY Auto Insurers Now Reward Motorists for Driving Less
Allstate has joined Progressive Insurance as the second company to offer New Yorkers the chance to save money with usage-based car insurance. Like its cousin, pay-as-you-drive insurance, usage-based insurance rewards people for driving less. On top of that, by constantly monitoring how people drive, it creates incentives based on behaviors that can't be tracked by traffic tickets or crash reports alone. The New York City Department of Transportation is promoting the concept in its effort to cut down on dangerous driving.
February 21, 2013
Gary Toth: TTI Congestion Scores Prove Road Expansion Isn’t the Answer
In response to our critique of the Texas Transportation Institute's congestion rankings, which take traffic delays out of context and risk being used to justify road expansions, former New Jersey DOT leader Gary Toth raised this question: What if, instead of getting frustrated with the report, we reframe its interpretation?
February 7, 2013
Scared by Dangerous Traffic? Take a Xanax
Once in a while, a story comes along that perfectly encapsulates how dangerous traffic forces people to re-orient their lives. This example, relayed to us by a reader, comes from a recent lecture at the psychiatry department of a major Manhattan hospital about anxiety disorders in the elderly.
February 6, 2013
As Baby Boomers Age, They Take Their Foot Off the Gas
They may be remembered as the driving-est generation. Baby Boomers, who came of age in the heyday of suburbia, have always driven more than any other generation. At the height of their driving years, boomers averaged 51 miles per day. They continue to drive 17 percent more than all other age groups, according to a recent report from AARP.
November 13, 2012
It’s Not the Economy, Stupid: Americans Really Are Driving Less
Since 2005, Americans have been driving fewer miles each year. While the shift predated the onset of the Great Recession, the question of whether the decline in driving marked a sea change in the way we get around or simply reflected a drop in economic activity has been a matter of considerable debate.
November 5, 2012
2011 DOT Scorecard: More Jobs, More Subway Riders, Traffic Stays Flat
While the number of employed New Yorkers has recovered from the lows of the recession, motor vehicle traffic in the city remained flat last year, with increased demand for travel being met by the city’s increasingly stretched subways, according to NYC DOT’s annual Sustainable Streets Index update.
August 21, 2012