Community transportation systems have multiple implications
for the health of residents. Most directly, motor vehicles are the leading cause
of injury in the United States and are responsible for about one-third of all
injury deaths (Fingerhut and Warner 1997). The nature of the transportation
modes and the volume of use also influence the types and magnitude of pollution
introduced into the environment (Sharpe 1999). Another consideration is the
employment patterns and economic well–being that are
determined by the job accessibility through adequate and affordable
transportation systems (Pugh 1998).
We include measures within each of these health–related
aspects of transportation. Vehicle occupant and pedestrian safety factors are
included, as well as characteristics of the infrastructure of roads, sidewalks,
and bike lanes. We examine characteristics and numbers of vehicles and aspects
of the public transportation system. Finally, we include economic issues such as
government transportation spending priorities, funding for public
transportation, and personal insurance rates.
This table presents the components and indicators of the transport dimension.
Six transport psychosocial components are identified:
Within each component, several indicators are identified, and for each
indicator at least one data set is listed.
| Components and Indicators |
Data Sources and Notes |
|
1. Safety: Seat belts/child restraints |
|
Prevalence of seat belt and child safety seat use |
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System
Data for states available in Rich Text Format and SAS format.
Estimates for Metropolitan Areas are available in the SMART BRFSS. |
|
Safety: Helmets |
|
Prevalence of child bicycle helmet use |
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System |
|
Safety: Age curfews/graduated driver's license program |
|
Driver's license requirements for young drivers |
Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety/Highway Loss Data Institute*
From this Web site page, select How States Measure Up |
|
Safety: Driving while intoxicated laws/enforcement |
|
Rating of driving while intoxicated laws and law enforcement |
MADD*
From this Web site page, select Stats and Resources; select Laws;
select Rating the States. |
|
Safety: Speed restriction/enforcement |
|
Speed limit on urban interstates |
Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety/Highway Loss Data Institute*
From this Web site page, select How States Measure Up |
|
Peak period freeway and principal artery speed |
Texas Transportation Institute*
Annual Urban Mobility Report includes speed and congestion
information. |
|
2. Infrastructure: Roads |
|
Quantity: Miles of interstate, other freeways, and expressways; other
principal arteries, minor arterial, collector, and local roads; total
roadway miles |
Federal
Highway Administration
From this Web site page, select Highway Statistics for desired year;
select Roadway Extent, Characteristics, and Performance. PDF and Excel
files. |
|
Quality: Percent of households reporting major repairs needed to
streets in their neighborhood |
American Housing
Survey
Data for each of 47 selected Metropolitan Areas are collected about
every 4 years, with an average of 12 areas included each year.
Downloadable data in SAS and ASCII format. |
|
3. Traffic Patterns: Spatial location of jobs |
|
Mean travel time to work, workers aged >16 years; average daily
commute distance |
Census Bureau |
|
Traffic Patterns: Traffic volume |
|
Vehicle miles of local road traveled daily, total and by type of road;
travel time index (measure of congestion at peak times); percent of
lane miles with congestion |
Texas Transportation Institute* |
|
Percent of households reporting street noise or traffic as a problem or
bothersome |
American Housing
Survey
Data for each of 47 selected Metropolitan Areas are collected about
every 4 years, with an average of 12 areas included each year.
Downloadable data in SAS and ASCII format. |
|
Annual traffic growth rates |
Highway and Motorway Fact Book
(http://www.publicpurpose.com/ut-ushyg.htm) |
|
Traffic Patterns: Car pooling |
|
Percent of workers aged >16 years carpooling to work |
Census Bureau |
|
4. Vehicles: Number of vehicles |
|
Vehicles available per household |
Census Bureau |
|
Vehicles: Types of vehicles |
|
Numbers of automobiles, buses, trucks, and trailers registered |
Federal
Highway Administration
From this Web site page, select Highway Statistics for desired year;
select Motor Vehicles. PDF and Excel
files. |
|
5. Public Transportation:
Availability/density/efficiency |
|
Percent of households reporting unsatisfactory or no public
transportation in their neighborhood |
American Housing
Survey |
|
Public Transportation: Types of public transportation available |
|
Percent of workers aged >16 years using various means of
transportation to work |
Census Bureau |
|
Public Transportation: Cohesiveness/integration |
|
Percent of trips taken by car, by transit, on foot, and by bicycle |
Driven to Spend: The Impact of Sprawl
on Household Expenses*
From this Web site page, select Library; select STPP Reports. |
|
6. Economic Issues: Expenditures |
|
Highway expenditures |
Census of Governments
From this Web site page, select year of interest; select Vol. 4, No.
3, Finances of County Governments, or No. 4, Finances of Municipal and
Township Governments, or downloadable State and Local Government
Finance data. |
|
Percent of total household expenditures for transportation; household
spending on public transportation |
Driven to Spend: The Impact of Sprawl
on Household Expenses* |
|
Consumer expenditures on transportation |
See Economic Dimension, Cost of Living |
|
Economic Issues: Spending on local roads vs. alternative
transportation |
|
Funding for state grants–in–aid for mass transit; funding for highway |
Federal
Highway Administration
From this Web site page, select Highway Statistics for desired year;
select Highway Finance. PDF and Excel
files. |
|
Economic Issues: Percent of transit revenue from fares |
|
Percent of total operating funds that are fare revenues |
National Transit
Database
PDF and HTML tables. |
|
Economic Issues: Insurance rates |
|
Average expenditure for auto insurance |
See Economic Dimension, Cost of Living |
|
Economic Issues: Commuter taxes |
|
Transit and vanpool tax exemption benefits |
See Economic Dimension, Exploitation (Commuter
Taxes) |
