OPINION * USA - Traffic planners still putting speed above safety

The priority of transportation planners and engineers has been to move as much motorized traffic as rapidly as possible

Miami,FL,USA -The Miami Herald Mobile, by Daniel Shoer Roth -4 Jan 2011: ... The Miami-Fort Lauderdale area is the third most dangerous metropolitan area for pedestrians in the United States, according to a study by the nonprofit Transportation for America in Washington D.C., which linked design of highways, streets and avenues to pedestrian fatality rates. From 2007 to 2008, the period covered by the study, there were 329 pedestrian fatalities in our region. That number represented almost a fourth of all traffic-related deaths... The root of the problem is the unbridled sprawl of urban and suburban development that entailed the creation of an overly abundant space designed exclusively for speeding cars, while sidewalks, bicycle lanes and points of access to public transit were neglected... In recent years, the priority of transportation planners and engineers who design South Florida's roads and freeways has been to move as much motorized traffic as rapidly as possible, be it on a major highway or on a street running through a city's downtown area, even on residential neighborhoods. That explains why in every corner of Miami Dade County, roads are under repair or expansion -- and crushing everyone's patience. It's yet another way of keeping us hostages to our cars... (Photo from truckaccidentlaw.org: Hialeah,FL truck accident)

* California - More CA Local Governments Adopting 'Crash Tax'

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Los Angeles Times - December 30, 2010: ...  Will charge motorists involved in traffic accidents for emergency response... Sacramento could be largest city in CA to implement crash tax. Smaller cities like Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Santa Ana, Hemet have done so... Costa Mesa fees based on equipment, personnel sent to accident scene... Bill collectors may be used if insurance companies don't pay. Many communities have required insurance to pay for ambulance. Insurers say response is part of public safety funded through taxation... Officials say additional services like road cleanup are logical extension of policy. Officials say budget woes are forcing them to find new revenue. But cities say ban on crash tax could "devastate" city services... Some states have banned collection of accident-response fees... (Photo by Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times - Public officials say budget woes compel them to bill drivers for the cost of sending police and firefighters to accidents. But critics are incensed that cities are charging extra for what once were considered core services)