Public Health - Greater Greater Washington

Traffic causes asthma

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 08:28:00 EDT

For the first time, scientists have found that traffic pollution causes asthma in children. Before, scientists knew pollution could trigger episodes in children who already had asthma, but weren't sure if it was a cause. (LA Times)

Comment

Traffic flows in waves (Feb 2, 2008)

Traffic pollution boosts autism?

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 08:43:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Autism correlates with pollution from vehicles, a study found. The particulates can affect genes in early development. (Streetsblog)

Comment

More storm stuff

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 08:28:00 EDT

by Thaddeus Bell

Though the subway closed, New York's dollar vans stayed in operation during Sandy. (WSJ) ... Rock Creek Parkway and Beach Drive flooded. (DCist) ... The storm caused a serious blood-donation shortage. (WAMU)

Comment

And...

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:44:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

A Metro train operator prevented a suicide. (Examiner) ... Giving seniors free bus passes makes them healthier. (Atlantic Cities) ... Many architects too often forget about the context of their buildings in the existing environment. (Guardian) ... Bike advocates and bike shops both work to get more people biking. (Patch)

Comment

And...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 08:13:00 EDT

by Thaddeus Bell

The mayor's personal security costs nearly $1 million annually. (Examiner)... Transit riders are much less likely to be obese. (Streetsblog)... The 18th Street refurbishment in Adams Morgan is now complete. (Examiner)

Comment

18th Street Dupont reconstruction off? (Jun 3, 2008)
Adams Morgan intersection update (Jun 21, 2008)
Crossable intersections in Adams Morgan (Jun 2, 2008)
Look at those streetcars (Jun 11, 2008)
Adams Morgan streetscape will make pedestrians welcome (Jul 30, 2009)

Stuffy dress codes hamper healthy urban choices

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 13:49:00 EDT

by Ksenia Kaladiouk

The dress code at many federal workplaces simply doesn't make sense anymore as the standard in professional attire. How is anyone supposed to ride a bike to work in a tailored skirt or a starched dress shirt?

Photo by Richard Masoner / Cyclelicious on Flickr.

Secretaries Sebelius, LaHood, Donovan and Administrator Jackson: No doubt, you have plenty keeping you busy over at HHS, DOT, HUD and EPA. However, you have an opportunity to lead in promoting more health, better transportation, better cities and a sustainable planet by changing the federal employee dress code.

For a long time, convention required suits, ties and pantyhose. Before that it was a lot of gloves and hats and powdered wigs. (Don't get me started on the corsets...) But the fashion police have moved forward, leaving federal agencies hopelessly out of style and out of step with their own missions.

Environmental sustainability, smart urban growth and public wellness are at the very top of the agenda. But most of your employees can't live out the very values that they work for; they're too busy fetching their dry cleaning and keeping their shoes shined.

Let's relax the professional dress code in favor of something a little more practical.

Secretary LaHood, it would be nice to get more people out of the morning gridlock and onto a Metro, right? Employees who choose to walk or bike to work might put a dent in the diabetes and obesity numbers, isn't that true, Secretary Sebelius?

If more people chose to wait for the bus instead of hopping into a private vehicle, I bet the environment would have no objections, right Ms. Jackson? For that matter, I bet your cooling costs (and your carbon footprint) wouldn't be so high if people didn't wear wool all summer. I get warm just thinking about August in DC.

Undoubtedly, some of your employees make great choices already, out of necessity or otherwise. But you aren't making it any easier for them. And it wouldn't cost you a dime to make the change. In fact, it might save everyone a few dollars.

Of course, all of your workers would see some returns if they didn't have to suit up for work every day. In addition, a more active, health-conscious employee workforce would help to reduce your organization's insurance overhead. In turn, employees would enjoy lower premiums and, eventually, fewer reasons to see the doctor in the first place.

And, Secretary Donovan, you know better than anyone, as more and more people find themselves living in urban areas, individuals' choices regarding their health and their habits—from how they choose to commute to how many loads of laundry they wash in a given week—have a larger and larger impact the way our cities develop and evolve.

The very concept of what it means to look like a "professional" needs a makeover. Lest you think that this would mean lowering standards, let me assure you on behalf of the fashion police: it would not. We love good style, and we love great clothes. But even we don't think that respect for a person's professionalism should hinge on whether he or she showed up in khakis or couture.

More often than not, when it comes to game-changing strategies, the private sector leads and the public sector follows. It's no surprise. Bold moves often require more risk than a government agency like any of yours can reasonably and responsibly agree to take on.

Here, then, is a rare opportunity. This is your chance to be taste-makers. Relax your dress codes and start a movement. Many fixes are expensive and challenging to implement. This one costs nothing at all and promises some big potential returns, from healthier, happier employees to cleaner, greener cities.

80 comments

Metro needs a CEO (Feb 4, 2010)
Planners are the new public health officials (May 18, 2012)
Thank you, Gabe! (Dec 8, 2010)
What do you want to do about labor costs? (Mar 3, 2010)
LaHood? (Dec 18, 2008)

Fewer, smaller gulps?

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 15:42:00 EDT

by Thaddeus Bell

To reduce high levels of obesity and its associated costs, New York mayor Bloomberg wants to ban the sale of most sugary drinks above 16 ounces. The soda industry is already moving to counter the proposal. (NYT)

Comment

Soda tax would boost public health (May 18, 2010)
Can NYC build me a personal garage too? (Jan 2, 2008)
New York's DC USA, but with a ferry instead of Metro (Aug 14, 2008)
Obama supports congestion pricing (Mar 28, 2008)
Good ideas almost everyone wants (Mar 27, 2006)

C'mon, exercise! Everyone's doing it!

Tue, 29 May 2012 08:57:00 EDT

by Christopher Honey

Peer pressure does not have to be bad; it can actually encourage children to exercise more. A study found that kids' friends had the strongest effect on how much they exercised. (TIME)

Comment

Reducing school traffic would help rush hour congestion (Oct 3, 2011)

Planners are the new public health officials

Fri, 18 May 2012 12:27:00 EDT

by Christine Green

Research has linked the growing obesity epidemic to inactivity caused by poor land-use and transportation choices. Transportation and planning professionals are now joining the ranks of public health professionals to find solutions. Across the region, local officials are taking this to heart.

Photo by Jeff Anderson, Wolftrap Elementary, VA.

Obesity is a serious problem in the US. When planners shape land-use or transportation options, they're determining the potential health of the community, because these options affect whether people can choose effective transit or safe walking and bicycle routes.

When the Prince George's community hosted a screening of the four-part HBO Weight of the Nation documentary series earlier this week, the community highlighted this intersection between public health and transportation planning.

Global Solutions President and CEO Dr. Maya Rockeymore, speaking at a panel after the screening, responded to the stark numbers presented in the film. In Baltimore, residents of the Inner Harbor have a life expectancy of 62 years while residents of North Baltimore have a life expectancy of 82 years. "Context controls choice," she said. People need access to parks, transit, safe walking and bicycle routes, and full-service grocery stores to even have the choice to be healthy.

Low-income communities and communities of color have higher rates of obesity and chronic disease. The physical neighborhood of the Inner Harbor contributes to the health disparity in life expectancy. While designed as a walkable community, the neighborhood suffers from vacant houses, streets in need of maintenance and lack of destinations to meet basic needs such as a grocery store. When the physical environment deteriorates, safety becomes an additional issue in neighborhoods.

In the United States, 66% of adults are overweight or obese and nearly 20% of children are obese. Being overweight or obese increases the risk of chronic diseases such as hypertension, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, and asthma in both adults and children.

Pamela Creekmur, the Acting Health Officer and Director of the Prince George's County Health Department, explained that Prince George's obesity and physical inactivity rates are higher than other jurisdictions in the greater Washington region. Though Prince George's faces a bigger challenge, all the region's communities have seen a rise in obesity rates, which range between 18 to 34 percent for adults throughout the region.

Part of the cause of this obesity epidemic is physical inactivity. There has been a 300 percent increase in driving to work since 1960. As the documentary explains, in 1969 almost 50 percent of kids walked or biked to school while today only 13 percent of kids do the same.

The lack of exercise by children extends beyond just commuting to and from school. The documentary shows a mom who takes her children to a parking lot because it is the only open space they have to play. This environment isn't hospitable to the kind of physical activity a good park encourages.

Whether it's questions of commuting or questions of parks, transportation and planning professionals make decisions that affect travel and open spaces every day. These decisions need to be viewed as public health decisions.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the federal agency charged with health promotion and disease prevention, agrees. It has recognized that transportation policy, street-scale improvements, and access to places suitable for physical activity matter to our health. Among the CDC's recommendations is to participate in Safe Routes to School initiatives and adopt Complete Streets policies.

The Guide to Community Prevention Services, written by an independent group of public health and prevention professionals appointed by the CDC director, outlines several more environmental and policy approaches to provide opportunities for people to be physically active. These include the connectivity of sidewalks and streets, providing places for physical activity such as trails, and street-scale improvement such as street lighting and traffic calming. Such urban design features have been shown to improve some aspect of physical activity by 35 percent, not to mention the accompanying benefits of reduced crime and stress.

Of course, these improvements do not come overnight. After the screening, an elected official and audience members noted that such changes are not easy. After all, parks do not generate tax dollars.

But that does not mean that our environments must stagnate while our health deteriorates. Local communities can bring about change even when the federal government or state government seems stuck. Port Towns Youth Council President Erick Vargas talked about how his group took matters into their own hands by doing an audit of the streets and reporting the problems.

Prince George's County is taking action through a partnership of towns within the county. The Port Towns Community Health Partnership has a policy development team focused specifically on the built environment and nutrition policy to improve options for active living and healthy eating.

The group, which includes the towns of Bladensburg, Colmar Manor, Cottage City, and Edmonston, included a community health and wellness section in the Port Towns sector plan with the goals of providing safe places to walk and exercise and access to nutritious foods. The group is following through on sector plan recommendations to formalize a wellness opportunity zone as part of the zoning code. This would include changes in the built environment, access to healthier foods, and improved environmental stewardship.

Across the Potomac, the Fairfax County Health Department established the Partnership for a Healthier Fairfax, a group of community members and organizations concerned with public health. The Partnership created an environment and infrastructure strategic issues team as one of five teams who will make recommendations for improving health in Fairfax County. The first focus is a on local policy. The team is doing a scan of policies, including transportation and land use, that could be modified to promote a healthier and safer physical environment.

In the Washington region, better transportation and planning decisions can improve our health by increasing our access to efficient transit and space to run, bike, and play. We also create a healthier context for our environment—and as Dr. Rockeymore said, context controls choice. Throughout the region, local groups are working to give more of their neighbors the choice to live healthier lives.

41 comments

Soda tax would boost public health (May 18, 2010)
Prince George's moves toward complete and walkable streets (Apr 16, 2012)
Reducing school traffic would help rush hour congestion (Oct 3, 2011)
Doing well by doing good (Aug 17, 2009)
Fairfax, PG worst for pedestrian safety (Apr 23, 2008)

Infant mortality improves

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:59:00 EDT

by David Edmondson

DC's infant mortality rate has improved markedly, moving from 23.1 deaths per 1,000 to only 8 deaths per 1,000. Home health visits and better healthcare outreach contributed to the improvement. (Post)

Comment

DC uninsured rate dropped, is one of lowest in US (Sep 11, 2009)
Defeat poverty by investing early in our children (Aug 25, 2010)

And...

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:30:00 EDT

by David Edmondson

Walkability and better food choice can dramatically reduce childhood obesity. (Walkonomics) ... Prince George's developers would freeze property taxes and abolish rent control. (Gazette) ... DC is probably lucky it has no official mayoral residence. (DCist)

Comment

Biking could save billions

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 08:26:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

More than one third of Copenhagen's population commutes to work by bike. If American's commuted in the same rates it would save $17 billion, mainly in health care costs. (Business Insider)

Comment

How much will Walmart cost DC taxpayers? (Apr 18, 2011)
DC cycling concentrated in Northwest and Capitol Hill (Mar 1, 2011)
Why use sustainable transportation? It's the convenience, stupid. (Mar 12, 2009)
Women: How comfortable do you feel biking? (Mar 30, 2011)
DC uninsured rate dropped, is one of lowest in US (Sep 11, 2009)

Towards healthier transportation

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:02:00 EDT

by David Edmondson

Designing a city around the car is a recipe for poor health, and a bill in the Washington State House would factor in public health effects when planning transportation. (Seattle Times)

Comment

Soda tax would boost public health (May 18, 2010)
GOP transportation bill's new direction is the same old one (Jul 11, 2011)

The health effects of urban design

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 10:17:00 EDT

by David Edmondson

Sprawl makes us fatter, sicker, and lowers our life expectancy. This is the subject of a new PBS documentary series, Designing Healthy Communities, which will look at connections between cities and health. (Streetsblog)

Comment

Soda tax would boost public health (May 18, 2010)
Reaper Mall (May 31, 2003)
Wal-Mart, urban design, Main Street, jobs, and eye care (Nov 19, 2010)

And...

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 08:42:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

DC apartment rents may rise less quickly thanks to new supply. (UrbanTurf) ... Republican candidates have said little about urban and transportation issues thus far. (Streetsblog) ... New York City enjoys the highest life expectancy in the nation, mainly thanks to its urban environment. (GOOD)

Comment

Fixing vacant lots is healthy

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 09:28:00 EDT

by David Alpert

When vacant lots are cleaned up and refreshed with new grass and trees, crime declines and public health increases, according to a 10-year epidemiological study in Philadelphia. (Science Daily)

Comment

Small lots to parking lots to big buildings: The evolution of Mt. Vernon Square (Nov 23, 2009)
Traffic reduction: An urgent public health priority (Jul 27, 2010)
Can blight, or even an auto ad, invoke opportunity? (Feb 12, 2011)

Traffic is bad for you, biking good

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 09:42:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Science says traffic is bad for your brain. (WSJ) ... People with very long commutes are happier than those with medium-length commutes and transit riders, but walkers and bikers are best off of all. WTOP's story gets the message completely backward on cycling. (Men's Health, WashCycle)

Comment

And...

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 08:12:00 EDT

by Eric Fidler

DC's green roofs are good for the environment and recreation. (Miami Herald) ... MD's House approved the governor's gerrymander. (Post) ... Moving from a poor to a middle-class neighborhood reduces your chance of obesity. (Science Now)

Comment

3 questions with Md. delegate candidate Dana Beyer (Jul 9, 2010)
GGW discusses: Displacement versus gentrification (Feb 17, 2011)
Then and Now: The Times-Herald building (Jul 22, 2010)
Cities are more than just poverty (Dec 19, 2007)
3 questions with Md. delegate candidate Scott Goldberg (May 27, 2010)

Not that type of service

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 08:32:00 EDT

by Jamie Scott

DC Attorney General Irv Nathan is suing a nonprofit for allegedly using city money to build a strip club. The group won $10 million in grants to provide residential services for HIV/AIDS patients. (DCist)

Comment

DC versus New York (Mar 6, 2008)
It�s time for transparency in DC�s budget (Oct 20, 2009)
Leftover capital money could save Metro service (Apr 14, 2010)
Then and Now: The Congressional Club (Jul 15, 2009)
Metro restores almost all service cuts (Apr 30, 2009)

And...

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 08:40:00 EDT

by Jamie Scott

Seven Virginia towns included on best small towns list (WTOP) ... MPD arrested 74 people in a prostitution ring (NBC Washington) ... Electrical problems caused water pumps to fail, leading to Metro delays (Examiner) ... Wonder Bread factory in Shaw could earn historic status. (WBJ)

Comment

Preservation League revives Wonder Bread Factory (Apr 29, 2011)
MWAA picks tunnel station (Apr 6, 2011)
Breakfast links: Mo' train money, mo' problems edition (Oct 1, 2008)
Home of the 'father of black history' should be restored (Aug 4, 2011)
What's the status of our major transit projects? (Jun 29, 2011)

Waistlines explode

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 12:53:00 EDT

by Eric Fidler

Just 20 years ago, no state had an adult obesity rate above 15%. Now, national average expanded to 66%. Among states, DC had the second-lowest rate, at 21.7% while Virginia and Maryland had rates of 25.9% and 27.1% respectively. The racial disparities are especially wide in DC. (Post)

Comment

Black homicide rate drops but remains high (Jun 21, 2011)
Taxes lowest for DC residents and car-free Virginians (Feb 22, 2011)
Make sure you get counted for the 2010 Census (Jan 15, 2010)
Soda tax would boost public health (May 18, 2010)

MetroAccess riders suing over possible TB exposure

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 08:33:00 EDT

by Jamie Scott

A group of MetroAccess riders is suing Metro and a contractor that runs the service for possibly exposing riders to tuberculosis. Metro has filed a motion to dismiss the case. (Examiner)

Comment

MetroAccess can save money while also saving rides (Apr 14, 2010)
MetroAccess cuts remain (May 12, 2010)
Do more riders cost Metro more? (Jan 12, 2009)
Metrobus, MetroAccess fares have declined with inflation (Mar 9, 2009)
How jurisdictions share the cost of Metro, and what it means for riders (Nov 3, 2009)

Brown's top priority: Chocolate milk

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 08:35:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Kwame Brown pushed hard to restore chocolate milk in DC schools at last week's confirmation hearing for Kaya Henderson. Why? A first grader presented him with some research on the matter. Oh, and the dairy lobby has been pushing for it. (DC Food For All)

Comment

Lost Washington: Thompson's Dairy (Sep 7, 2010)
Klingle rebuild probably dead (Apr 26, 2008)
Brown and Orange talk parking tickets (Sep 4, 2010)
Schwartz to run as a write-in; at-large race gets more interesting (Sep 16, 2008)
Orange win would make DC Council most colorful in history (Apr 25, 2011)

Charm City is walkable, too

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 10:03:20 EDT

by Eric Fidler

A Baltimorean reflects on his past year without a car. He lost weight, saved thousands of dollars, and discovered new parks. (via Streetsblog)

Comment

DC's employment stable yet unemployment rising (Nov 2, 2009)

Defying yet another national trend

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 08:23:00 EDT

by Eric Fidler

There remains a gap in life expectancy between DC's black and white residents, but that gap is shrinking. Nationally, however, the gap is growing. (DCentric)

Comment

DC second fittest; biking a factor?

Wed, 25 May 2011 11:14:00 EDT

by David Alpert

DC was displaced by Minneapolis as the fittest city in the US. Minneapolis also happens to have a lot of bicyclists, and the most equal gender ratio of people biking; DC is also high in both. Coincidence? (Post, DCBAC)

Comment

Women: How comfortable do you feel biking? (Mar 30, 2011)
Biking on sidewalks is legal in DC (May 29, 2008)
Get off the road! No, get on the road! (Jan 26, 2008)

Neighborhoods exacerbate kids' obesity

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 12:01:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

Overweight kids face a host of problems, including several of the built environment. Neighborhoods lack healthy food options, and unsafe or poorly designed neighborhoods discourage physical activity. (WAMU)

Comment

Soda tax would boost public health (May 18, 2010)
Food insecurity in the District (Feb 5, 2009)
Will tax incentives make food deserts bloom? (Dec 4, 2009)
"Bank deserts" harm underserved communities (Aug 18, 2009)
Alexander calls on all residents to protect the environment (Apr 6, 2009)

Health impact of SE bike lane

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 08:46:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

A Johns Hopkins public health professor will conduct a Health Impact Assessment of a planned Ward 8 bike lane, which will connect several groceries, healthcare facilities, schools and rec centers with community. (WABA)

Comment

15th Street bike lane almost done, but won't go north of U (Nov 4, 2009)
Council balks at bike lane parking fines (Jul 16, 2008)
Is there really a problem with the 15th Street bike lane? (Feb 28, 2011)
DDOT shares downtown bicycle facility plans (Mar 19, 2010)
Downtown bike lane proposal needs fixes at the ends (Mar 22, 2010)

DC's AIDS progress slipping

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 08:56:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

At a time when the city's largest of needle exchange program recently shuttered and Congress wants to defund all such programs anyway, a new report shows that DC is losing ground in its efforts to fight the AIDS epidemic. (Post)

Comment

DC needs school choice, not vouchers (Feb 25, 2011)
WABA reports progress with MPD (Oct 30, 2008)
The plight of the blight: River East liquor stores (Jul 10, 2009)
Keep inclusionary zoning housing affordable (Sep 22, 2010)
Scenes of Washington: Dupont Circle events (Dec 5, 2010)

Arlington is the healthiest

Sat, 26 Feb 2011 13:49:12 EDT

by David Alpert

A map compares the health of residents in each Congressional district in America. Virginia's 8th, which contains Arlington and Alexandria, is the healthiest in the nation; Maryland's 8th, encompassing western Montgomery, is almost as high. (via ArlNow, MW)

Comment

Metro no dirtier than the rest of the world

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 08:38:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

WUSA9 went searching for germs, swabbing high traffic areas around the Metrorail system like escalator handrails, and ticket machines. Nearly all the bacteria collected were common bacteria found in dirt, and virtually everywhere else.

Comment

App shows real-time Metro train locations (Dec 5, 2010)

Breathing your neighbor's smoke

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 08:45:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

A study in Pediatrics shows that children who live in apartments have a higher exposure to second-hand smoke, even if their parents don't smoke. But would the suburbs really be healthier for kids given all the other holistic public health issues that plague them? (Environmental and Urban Economics, Matt')

Comment

Women showing skin reason to oppose a gym?

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 08:45:00 EDT

by David Alpert

A few Mount Vernon Square residents spoke up against a gym in their neighborhood because women in "skimpy clothing" run around in the neighborhood. ANC 6C, however, decided to base its decision on other factors. (RPUS, Eric Fidler)

Comment

Mount Vernon Square, 1887 (Aug 14, 2009)
Ask the Ward 2 Council candidates (Jul 8, 2008)
Plans envision multimodal "crossroads" at Mt. Vernon Square (Dec 10, 2009)
Small lots to parking lots to big buildings: The evolution of Mt. Vernon Square (Nov 23, 2009)
Capitol Hill may get a town square (Jul 30, 2008)

Highway deaths lowest in 60 years

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 09:20:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

With the release of NHTSA's 2009 traffic fatality report yesterday, the US saw the lowest rate of highway deaths since 1950. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says there's still work to be done. (Post)

Comment

Public health experts missing the point

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:20:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

While numerous public health experts have recognized that traffic deaths are one of the primary killers of Americans, they seem to miss the point about how to tackle the problem. (Streetsblog)

Comment

Unhealthy commutes

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 10:45:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

Gallup released a poll showing that people with longer commutes have a higher tendency toward various health problems, including high cholesterol and obesity. The survey was based on commute length without regard to mode, so it would be interesting to see how people with 30 minute train commutes compare to those with similar auto commutes. (Gallup)

Comment

Transit fits

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:15:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

The people over at the Freakonomics Blog have compiled the various articles and infographics floating around the web addressing transportation choices and obesity. Unlike the questionable comparisons of state driving and obesity rates, there actually is a reputable scientific study that shows weight loss in transit riders. Meanwhile, TheCityFix covers new VTPI and APTA reports about public health benefits of transit. (Freakonomics Blog, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, CityFix)

Comment

Traffic reduction: An urgent public health priority

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:48:00 EDT

by Ken Archer

Traffic is the leading cause of death among children worldwide and the leading cause of death among 1-34 year olds in the United States. So, why isn't traffic considered the top threat to public health by the CDC, WHO and federal, state and local governments?

Photo by Diana Beideman on Flickr.

Why don't officials approach traffic reduction with the same urgency that they approach, say, tobacco or malnutrition? The answer can be found in the CDC's publications on injury prevention.

CDC's research and prevention efforts target this serious public health problem. We focus on improving car and booster seat and seat belt use and reducing impaired driving, and helping groups at risk: child passengers, teen drivers, and older adult drivers.

The CDC, NIH and other agencies focus on traffic safety as the preventable cause of death, not traffic itself. WHO's recommendations for addressing traffic fatalities are "speed, alcohol, seat-belts and child restraints, helmets, and visibility."

The flaw in this exclusive focus on traffic safety is that increased safety only matters when vehicle miles traveled (VMT) are kept static or reduced. Instead, safety improvements that reduce fatalities per VMT have been offset by rising VMT.

Investments in traffic safety finally began to matter in 2004. According to the Brookings Institution, "driving, as measured by national VMT, began to plateau as far back as 2004 and dropped in 2007 for the first time since 1980," obviously due to rising gas prices. As a result, the rate of traffic fatalities per 100,000 population finally began a much steeper decline in 2004 compared to earlier periods when safety improvements had been largely undermined by VMT increases.

But did this demonstrate the urgency of reducing traffic? Not according to NHTSA Administrator David Strickland, who said the following in a press release celebrating the decline:

This continuing decline in highway deaths is encouraging, but our work is far from over. We want to see those numbers drop further. We will not stop as long as there are still lives lost on our nation's highways. We must continue our efforts to ensure seat belts are always used and stay focused on reducing distracted and impaired driving.

Attributing the recent decline in traffic fatalities solely or primarily to safety improvements is not only sloppy statistics given that safety improvements have lead to steady declines in fatalities per VMT for decades. It also sends the wrong message—people can feel safe driving, as driving itself is not part of the problem—a message which will only increase VMT further and bring a halt to reductions in traffic fatalities.

Attributing the declining fatality rate to safety improvements also allows the myth to perpetuate that moving to the suburbs is safer than living in the city, a myth that, left unchallenged, increases VMT and undermines safety improvements. This myth was exposed by the New York City Department of Health, which recently revealed that their low VMT per child made NYC a much safer place for children than the rest of the country.

So why does the CDC, WHO, NIH, NHTSA and probably every other public health agency treat poor traffic safety as the preventable cause of the top killer of children worldwide, and not traffic as well? And how many children will have to die for this to change? Are we serious about public health? The sooner we start demanding honesty about the causes of the top killer of children here and abroad the better, because during the 2 minutes you spent reading this article, another child died in a traffic collision.

87 comments

Traffic fatalities at historic low, but there's more to the story (Sep 14, 2010)
Soda tax would boost public health (May 18, 2010)
Safer driving is more than just buckling up in the event of a crash (Jun 11, 2009)
Can we eliminate death and serious injury from roadways? (Nov 16, 2010)
DC uninsured rate dropped, is one of lowest in US (Sep 11, 2009)