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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Transportation

Goal: Promote safe and active transportation.

A woman wearing a business suit and holding a cup of coffee stands at a bus stop and watches a bus approach.

Every year in the United States, more than 30,000 people die from motor vehicle crashes.1 Healthy People 2030 focuses on keeping people safe in motor vehicles and promoting the use of other types of transportation. 

Interventions to increase seat belt and car seat use can reduce deaths from motor vehicle crashes. Similarly, treating substance use disorders and conditions like sleep apnea is critical for preventing people from driving when they shouldn’t be. 

In addition, getting people to use motor vehicles less often can help improve their health. Mass transit options, like buses and trains, produce far less air pollution than cars — and people who walk and bike places get more physical activity. Communities that invest in mass transit and promote active transportation can help protect the environment and improve health. 

Objective Status

  • 0 Target met or exceeded
  • 0 Improving
  • 4 Little or no detectable change
  • 2 Getting worse
  • 1 Baseline only
  • 0 Developmental
  • 0 Research

Learn more about objective types

Related Objectives

The following is a sample of objectives related to this topic. Some objectives may include population data.

Transportation — General

Increase trips to work made by mass transit — EH‑02
Little or no detectable change

Drug and Alcohol Use

Reduce the proportion of motor vehicle crash deaths that involve a drunk driver — SU‑11
Getting worse

Injury Prevention

Reduce the proportion of deaths of car passengers who weren't buckled in — IVP‑07
Little or no detectable change
Reduce deaths from motor vehicle crashes — IVP‑06
Getting worse

Physical Activity

Increase the proportion of adults who walk or bike to get places — PA‑10
Little or no detectable change
Increase the proportion of adolescents who walk or bike to get places — PA‑11
Baseline only

Sleep

Reduce the rate of motor vehicle crashes due to drowsy driving — SH‑01
Little or no detectable change

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References

1.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Motor Vehicle Crash Deaths. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/motor-vehicle-safety