[sustran] Safe Travels: Mobility Management As A Traffic Safety Strategy

[Todd Alexander Litman]

Dear Colleagues,

Greetings from Victoria, British Columbia.

We just posted a significantly expanded and updated version of our report 
"Safe Travels: Evaluating Mobility Management Traffic Safety Impacts" 
(http://www.vtpi.org/safetrav.pdf). It discusses the relationship between 
per capita vehicle travel and traffic risk, the safety impacts of various 
types of travel changes (including shifts in mode, travel time and land use 
patterns), and the potential role of mobility management as a traffic 
safety strategy.

The report contains several interesting graphs which illustrate these 
relationships. Many undeveloped countries have very high per capita traffic 
fatality rates despite low per capita vehicle mileage (apparently due to 
unsafe road user behavior, less safe road and vehicle conditions, and 
inferior emergency response and medical treatment), which suggests that 
increased mileage is not a risk factor, but when comparing geographic areas 
or groups that are at similar levels of development (such as U.S. states), 
mileage turns out to be a major risk factor and mobility management can be 
one of the most effective and cost effective safety strategies.

I would greatly appreciate feedback on this study. Please let me know if 
you have questions, comments or suggestions for improving it.



Sincerely,
Todd Litman, Director
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
"Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"
1250 Rudlin Street
Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada
Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560
Email: litman at vtpi.org
Website: http://www.vtpi.org