The Real Reason Why Traffic Engineers Design So Many Deadly Roads (Wes Marshall)

The Real Reason Why Traffic Engineers Design So Many Deadly Roads (Wes Marshall)

Author: StreetsblogUSA June 18, 2024 Duration: 32:44

Who, exactly is designing America's notriously deadly road network — and how on earth do they keep getting away with it? 

On today's episode of The Brake, we're talking to traffic engineer, academic and now author, Wes Marshall, whose new book — "Killed by a Traffic Engineer: Shattering the Delusion that Science Underlies Our Transportation System" — unpacks the mountain of wildly outdated, severely limited, and often downright non-existent research that underlies so much of our national road design manuals. 

More importantly, though, Marshall's book also unpacks the more fundamental reasons why engineers keep widening lanes and saying no to crosswalks, even when the manuals give them permission to do something better — which, more often than not, they do.

Listen in, and read an excerpt from "Killed by a Traffic Engineer" here.


You hear a lot about electric cars and futuristic transit, but what about the fundamental shift required to build cities where driving isn't a daily necessity? That's the terrain explored on The Brake: A Streetsblog Podcast. Hosted by the team at StreetsblogUSA, this series moves beyond the headlines to engage with the activists, planners, writers, and community members who are actively reimagining American streets. Each conversation digs into the real-world work of dismantling car dependency, examining the policy choices, cultural norms, and historical decisions that got us here. The discussions are grounded in the intersecting categories of society, commentary, culture, and news, offering a nuanced lens on everything from bike lane debates and public transit equity to the subtle ways our built environment shapes daily life. This isn't just a technical talk about infrastructure; it's about the human stories and the political movement fighting for safer, more connected, and less congested communities. Tune in for a podcast that acts as a vital pit stop for understanding the complex, often frustrating, but ultimately hopeful push to take our foot off the gas and build a different future.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 89

The Brake: A Streetsblog Podcast
Podcast Episodes
How Many People Does Car Culture Kill, Exactly? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:27
Sustainable transportation advocates know all the stats about how many people die in car crashes on global roads every year. But what about all the deaths and injuries that car culture causes — not to mention all the oth…
Why 'Bike-partisanship' Is Our Secret Weapon (Rep. Earl Blumenauer) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:30
As co-founder of the Congressional Bike Caucus Rep. Earl Blumaneuer (D - Ore.) has long been one of Washington's most staunch advocates for sustainable transportation — not least during the writing of the Bipartisan Infr…
How Walking Can Help End the Climate Crisis (Bill McKibben) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:44
This Halloween, we're giving you a treat instead of a trick, in the form of an extended (but still bite-sized) interview with legendary author and climate activist Bill McKibben. On today's episode of The Brake, we're re…