Transportation’s hidden health costs

New report

Vilas Bhuchar, Jun 07, 10.

The American Public Health Association (APHA) recently released The Hidden Health Costs of Transportation, which documents “how our nation’s current transportation system contributes to today’s soaring health costs and impedes progress towards improving public health”, according to Smart Growth Online.

The most expensive aspect of the current U.S. transportation system comes from traffic fatalities and injuries, notes the story:

Chief among those costs are U.S. traffic fatalities and injuries, which remain unacceptably high. In March 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed a statistical projection that shows that roughly 33,963 people died in traffic crashes in 2009. Furthermore, according to the American Automobile Association, traffic crashes cost an astounding $164.2 billion each year, or roughly $1,051 per person annually.

Hidden costs stemming from current transportation policies include physical inactivity, rising asthma and obesity rates, and degraded air quality, adds the story, which notes that changes in policy could significantly improve public health:

Increasing sustainable transportation options and improving community transportation designs could significantly improve public health by introducing walking, bicycling and transit use as convenient and cost-effective ways to integrate more physical activity into the daily habits of all transportation users. APHA supports policy that would increase access to safe sidewalks, streets and playgrounds, health services and jobs for all Americans no matter what area of the country.

Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, FACEP (E), executive director of APHA, believes elected officials are responsible for ensuring that Americans have access to a robust and efficient transportation system, notes the story:

“Our country depends on a robust transportation system that facilitates easy, safe commutes and promotes physical activity in order to reduce the burden of death and disease and improve health outcomes of all communities. Millions of Americans are counting on elected officials to support meaningful policy initiatives that would make the country’s transportation system more efficient in areas of the country that need it the most.’‘

Full APHA report: The Hidden Health Costs of Transportation (pdf)