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Evaluating Health Impacts of Car Speeds

To evaluate health impacts of car speeds, should we solely measure crashes amongst drivers on a particular roadway, or,

should we look at wider implications of higher car speeds where they discourage bicycle and pedestrian use of roadways?

Consider these statistics from Michigan Fitness Foundation:

 

  • For each hour of driving per day, obesity increases 6%.

  • Bicycling and walking levels in the overall population fell by 66% between 1960 and 2009.

  • During that same time period, obesity levels rose by 156%.

  • One quarter of health care costs in the United States are attributable to obesity.

  • The health-care costs for childhood obesity-related diseases are $14 billion a year. 

Studies show that higher car speeds discourage use of the roadway by bikes and pedestrians.

 

Studies show bicycling is healthier, despite the substantial risk of being hit by a car:

National Institutes of Health: "On average, the estimated health benefits of cycling were substantially larger than the risks relative to car driving for individuals shifting their mode of transport.

 

Communities where more people walk are safer for walkers--

drivers are more careful!  

See chart below for a comparison of Michigan cities regarding 

Number of Walkers in relation to Risks to Individual Pedestrians:

City of Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2013

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