Safety
Streetsblog California
The Human Toll of Normalizing Distracted Driving
Nowhere is the culture of permissiveness more apparent, or deadly, than in Texas, where about 3,500 people lose their lives in traffic every year. It is one of just four states that doesn't ban texting and driving.
April 20, 2017
Time to Eliminate “Jaywalking” as a Crime
Are people who cross streets where it makes logical sense really destroying the integrity of our communities? Are they causing a wave of crimes that put us all in danger? No, they are not.
April 19, 2017
The “Jaywalker” Brutalized By Sacramento Police Was Stopped for No Reason at All
When the line between a legally justifiable stop and outright harassment is so thin, it can easily become a pretext for racial profiling.
April 14, 2017
Ticket Diversion for Bike Riders 101
Different places have different approaches: an online course in Davis, a class taught by police officers in Gilroy. However they are run, bike classes benefit the entire community, and if diversion programs help create a wider educational program, so much the better.
April 12, 2017
A Hopeful but Somber Walk to Work Day
San Francisco held a Walk to Work Day, marred by a crash that injured a volunteer. "If we're going to reach our goal of achieving Vision Zero... we need to change a culture of speeding into a culture of safety."
April 7, 2017
The Traffic Safety Establishment Needs to Take More Responsibility for Soaring Pedestrian Deaths
America's traffic safety establishment has long been focused on "behavioral" explanations for traffic deaths -- things like seatbelt usage and drunk driving. By ignoring the role of the high-speed, car-centric transportation systems they've created, they don't have to face their own culpability.
April 7, 2017
3 Steps to Fight Street Harassment
Cat calls, patronizing enjoinders to "smile," and more aggressive forms of harassment can make walking or biking uncomfortable or threatening. Katie Matchett, an urban planner who writes about pedestrian issues at Where the Sidewalk Starts, still recalls getting harassed on the streets of San Diego as she was beginning her career 20 years ago. She says it's up to everyone -- men and women -- to combat it.
April 7, 2017
Moving Forward on Automatic Speed Enforcement Cameras
The legislative push is on with the Safe Streets Act of 2017
February 14, 2017
Beware of Innocent Looking Puddles
The rider had to make a choice: take her chances with the puddle, or swerve and risk a conflict with the car. She made the same instant calculation all cyclists have to make on our streets, almost every day—she decided the puddle was the safer bet.
February 8, 2017
California Pedestrian Fatalities Are on the Rise
California as a state ranks at number 17 for pedestrian risk, with 6,616 pedestrian deaths between 2005 and 2014. The California regions with the highest pedestrian fatality rates are Bakersfield, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Stockton-Lodi, Modesto, and Fresno.
January 12, 2017
