Want safer roads? Start by rethinking how we build them, a CU Denver professor says

It wasn’t that long ago that some doctors would use lobotomies as a treatment for mental illness, or insomnia, or severe headaches. That wouldn’t happen now – but modern medicine has made some weird, often tragic turns to get to where it is now.  

Similarly, our modern roadways are designed with what amounts to junk science, according to author Wesley Marshall . He says it’s time for a wake-up call.  

Marshall, who teaches civil engineering at the University of Colorado Denver, thinks the way our streets and highways are built contributes to tens of thousands of unnecessary crashes and deaths each year.  

He recently published his research and ideas in a book, provocatively titled “Killed by a Traffic Engineer.”  

In the third installment of In The NoCo’s Holiday Book Club, we’re listening back to a conversation between Wes Marshall and In The NoCo’s Brad Turner.

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Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

What is In The NOCO?

KUNC's In The NOCO is a daily look at the stories, news, people and issues important to you. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show explores the big stories of the day, bringing context and insight to issues that matter. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we explore the lighter side of news, highlighting what makes this state such an incredible place to live.