People Places Facts
"Worldwide, an estimated 1.2 million people are killed in road crashes each year and as many as 50 million are injured." [This death rate works out to an average of over 3,200 people dead each day in traffic accidents.]
During 2003 in the United States, 42,643 people died in traffic accidents.
4,749 of these people were pedestrians.
--Fatality Analysis Reporting System, US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
In 2003, traffic congestion (based on wasted time and fuel) cost a total of about $63.1 billion in 85 US urban areas studied, with an average cost per traveler of $794.
--Annual Urban Mobility Report, Texas Transportation Institute
"In the first such national study, health researchers found that people who live in counties marked by sprawl-style development tend to weigh more, are more likely to be obese and are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure."
--Measuring the Health Effects of Sprawl, Smart Growth America and the Surface Transportation Policy Project
"Carpooling, using transit, walking, or bicycling-just one day a week for a year-can save the typical commuter about 1,200 miles on their vehicle and about $455 in total driving costs."
-- It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air Web site based on US Bureau of Transportation Statistics National Household Travel Survey 2001 and US General Services Administration.
