We asked for your help to speak up for equitable policies so that everyone has a fair, just opportunity to be their healthiest, and 186 people responded. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has nominated an ad hoc committee to analyze federal policies that contribute to preventable and unfair health outcomes in America, particularly among Latinos and other racial/ethnic minority populations. The committee wanted personal and/or professional feedback by Sept. 30, 2022, on: Examples of federal policies that create and/or contribute to racial/ethnic health inequities
Examples of policies that promote racial/ethnic health equity
The most important considerations when prioritizing action regarding federal policies to advance racial and ethnic ...
Did you know guns and traffic crashes are the leading causes of death for youth ages 1-19? These deaths are problematic and unacceptable for four key reasons: These child deaths are unnatural and violent.
Child deaths from guns and traffic crashes have risen since 2013, with spikes in both in 2020.
Traffic and firearm death rates among American youth are higher than other high-income countries.
These violent deaths are preventable. Traffic and gun violence are not criminal justice issues, they are public health issues. Preventing violent child deaths from traffic crashes and firearms requires a comprehensive and multi-layered public health approach to: Define and monitor the problem
Identify risk and protective factors
Develop prevention strategies
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Although driving declined in 2020, U.S. pedestrian deaths increased, especially among Latinos and other people of color, according to the new Dangerous by Design report from Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition. Pedestrian deaths have risen each year since 2009 – up 62% overall since then. Why? Roads in America are designed and funded primarily to quickly move people driving. Also, vehicles have been getting larger and more powerful. But speed comes at the expense of safety. Although transportation planners, engineers, and agencies claim to seek simultaneous goals of speed and safety, these two goals are incompatible, signified by the rising trend in pedestrian deaths. “States must use the enormous freedom and flexibility of federal ...
More than 16,000 concerned Americans sent public comments to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) urging them to make changes to their vehicle safety rating system, known as the New Car Assessment Program. Many organizations, such as the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), America Walks, and Families for Safe Streets enabled their members to submit comments. Our team at Salud America! also developed a model comment asking NHTSA for a vehicle rating system that accurately reflects the dangers vehicles pose to pedestrians, bikers, and others outside the vehicle. After all, more Americans died in motor vehicle crashes in 2021 than any other year since 2005, and the growing size and weight of vehicles is a contributor. “Driving ...
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has nominated an ad hoc committee to review federal policies that contribute to racial/ethnic health inequities, and recommend the most effective, promising approaches to equitably change policies. NASEM is seeking public comment on its nominees for the committee through June 20, 2022. The nominees are strong, diverse health equity experts. But none have experience in urban planning, housing, or transportation – some of the most critical social determinants of health. Use the following Salud America! model comment to tell NASEM to add committee members who are scholars in the intersection between urban planning and social determinants of health to improve their ability to make equitable policy ...
Driving is a daily danger to American life. And it is getting more dangerous. More Americans died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2021 than any other year since 2005, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Additionally, pedestrian fatalities are up 13% and bicyclist fatalities are up 5% compared to 2020. These are lower rates than the European Union, which has seen traffic fatalities decrease since 2019. What is happening on American roads? Are drivers becoming worse? Are the sizing size of SUVs and passenger trucks – “megacars” – responsible? What about vehicle and road safety? Let’s explore the facts to find an answer.
Drivers and Traffic Fatalities
U.S. traffic fatality rate rose 10.5% from 2020 to 2021, a year after rising ...
With roads designed to favor cars and the growing size of megacars – SUVs and passenger trucks – it’s no surprise traffic fatalities are on the rise among drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists. This makes vehicle safety a high priority. But did you know that the U.S. vehicle safety rating system doesn’t consider people outside the vehicle? Now is your chance to tell the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) National Traffic Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) to modify their vehicle safety rating system. Submit the following Salud America! model comment to tell NHTSA you want a vehicle rating system that accurately reflects the dangers vehicles pose to pedestrians, bikers, and others outside the vehicle. Comments are due June 8, 2022. Update June 2023: ...
In November 2021, Congress passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to rebuild roads, expand access to clean drinking water and high-speed internet, and tackle climate change — with priority investments in Latino and other often left-behind communities. Although this bill adds new money to fix some transportation problems, it pours hundreds of billions into the same old highway programs that perpetuate those problems, like auto-dependence and dangerous roads. “Today’s transportation system works extraordinarily well for its original intended purpose, to build a national highway system, but fails to meet the climate, economic recovery, equity, and safety challenges of the present day,” according to the National Association of City ...
Inadequate transportation can hurt a person’s social, economic, and health outcomes. But planners and policymakers have not had a good tool to measure transportation insecurity—a condition in which one is unable to regularly move from place to place in a safe or timely manner due to the absence of the material, economic, or social resources needed for transportation. So, in 2018, researchers from University of Michigan and others created a tool to explore transportation security modeled after the Food Security Index and based on interviews with families living in poverty. They call it the Transportation Security Index. In 2021, they validated the 16-question index using a nationally representative sample. “We hope [the Transportation Security Index 16] will be adopted ...
