this post was submitted on 03 Jan 2024
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GHSA previously issued a report finding that 3,434 pedestrians were killed on U.S. roadways in the first half of 2022, based on preliminary data reported by State Highway Safety Offices. A second report analyzing state-reported data for all of 2022 found that roadways continue to be incredibly deadly for pedestrians. There were 2.37 pedestrian deaths per billion vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in 2022, up yet again and continuing a troubling trend of elevated rates that began in 2020.

The report also includes an analysis of 2021 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System to provide additional context on when, where and how drivers strike and kill people on foot. This analysis uncovered a shocking safety disparity for people walking: Pedestrian deaths rose a troubling 77% between 2010 and 2021, compared to a 25% rise in all other traffic fatalities. The data analysis was conducted by Elizabeth Petraglia, Ph.D., of research firm Westat.

To combat this pedestrian safety crisis, GHSA supports a comprehensive solution based on the Safe System approach outlined in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS). Each of the five elements of this approach – safe road users, safe vehicles, safe speeds, safe roads and post-crash care – contribute in different but overlapping ways to provide a multi-layered safety net that can protect people on foot as well as other road users. The report includes examples of how states are utilizing Safe System principles to improve pedestrian safety.

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[–] [email protected] 62 points 10 months ago (2 children)

One of the reasons is probably the same why Tesla isn't releasing their Cybertruck outside of the us - the Crash-Tests there just don't factor in pedestrian survival rates if they are hit by the car that you want to release on the market. Most of those giant trucks don't make it here because they'd just run over any pedestrian they hit without them having any chance of survival even at low speeds.

Add to that the totally car-centered infrastructure that basically punishes everyone not in a car and you have the perfect storm for dead pedestrians and bikers...

[–] [email protected] 16 points 10 months ago

Something I’ve thought about recently that I don’t think gets mentioned enough is the raising of speed limits across the board. You have a car centric infrastructure operating along neglected (and sometimes non-existent) pedestrian paths and the speed limits keep going higher.

[–] Mr_Blott 10 points 10 months ago (4 children)

Long way of saying "Nobody outside the US has the right combination of gullibility and unfathomably poor taste to buy such a ghastly monstrosity" 😂

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago

Oh I'm sure there are. I see more and more idiots with big American trucks here in the Netherlands. They completely don't fit in our cities designed for normal sized cars. I also don't see how they're considered safe. The top of their hood is so high that you'll mostly get hit by the grill on the front upon impact.

I also doubt most of those people really need one, they seem more like the type of people that compensate away their insecurities by having a big truck. I can sort of see a farmer or something using one, but in a city I don't understand it. I guess they're not banned because that'd upset the US or something.

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[–] DiedAgain 58 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I think that the new blindingly bright headlights play a large part in the massive upswing in nighttime deaths. I have pretty much given up driving at night. Practically every vehicle coming the other way blinds me for at least 20 seconds. I was driving purely by watching the outer lane marker on the ground to my right. It's just too dangerous to continue. Don't even get me started on the morons in lifted trucks that get 10 ft behind you and blast all 3 mirrors until you can somehow, without being able to see, get out of their way.

[–] Aceticon 21 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (4 children)

My recommendation in the dangerous situation when ~~you're~~ your visibility is being affected by people blasting you with light from behind is to slow down until the danger is over.

Not only is slowing down if visibility falls a correct reaction from a safety point of view, by an "amazing coincidence" it's the very opposite of what the morons are trying to force you to do.

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[–] Ghostalmedia 15 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

But why would pedestrian deaths go up if they’re being more illuminated?

—-

Edit: digging in further, increased homelessness is also called out as a possible reason. I know in my area there are a LOT more unhoused people wandering around at night and sleeping on very dangerous stroads.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 10 months ago

Because other drivers are blinded...

[–] agitatedpotato 52 points 10 months ago (1 children)

You shouldn't automatically get the right to drive SUVs just because you have a license.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Require anything built on a truck frame to require a commercial license or a rural address.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

90% of rural addresses these days are just suburbs for people who want to pretend to be cowboys.

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

I remember when the ol' Honda Fit marketing material list "pedestrian safety" as an actual feature. Cars these days are complete opposite, they'll turn pedestrian into mincemeat.

[–] AnUnusualRelic 19 points 10 months ago

Now they're "pedestrian proof".

[–] Ghostalmedia 28 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The callout for homelessness is not one I expected to see. Half of Hawaii’s deaths pedestrian are of homeless people.

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[–] NarrativeBear 21 points 10 months ago (12 children)

This video here explains one of the issues one minute in as to why pedestrian deaths are rising. Definitely worth a watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh4H9qZ-_6Y&t=55

The way car companies are working around this legislation is why it's so hard to find and buy smaller sized cars even if there is demand (think smart car size). It also makes our community's less safe for pedestrian traffic and less enjoyable to walk.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 months ago (1 children)

and less enjoyable to walk.

Which, incidentally, is great for car manufacturers!

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 10 months ago (6 children)

Wait, how did it go UP in 2020? Do you guys remember 2020? How could you possibly get run over by a car in 2020? Did the twelve people who still got to drive to places try extra hard? What the hell?

[–] [email protected] 30 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Plenty of blue collar workers didn't get the "luxury" of staying home. I think the only time I was staying home was for a few weeks as a temporary layoff cause there wasn't enough work to do, not because of any kind of safeguarding.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 10 months ago

Combine that with people generally being a lot more lax with regards to following traffic laws and pedestrians who are expecting cars less, you've got a recipe for distatser.

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 10 months ago

Empty roads = no traffic = idiot drivers driving extra fast and careless

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago

So the context is that roads in the U.S are generally designed for speeds way higher than what the speed limit is, and what the average speed with regular traffic volumes is. The pandemic removed a lot of this traffic, which was the primary impediment to drivers driving the design speed of the roads. This higher speed then led to the increased pedestrian fatalities.

[–] dual_sport_dork 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yes, they did. I had to be on the roads a bit at the height of the pandemic due to my job. Far fewer people were driving, but basically all of them were driving like absolute raving lunatics. People were acting under the assumption that cops wouldn't be out (which was probably true, on average) so therefore laws just didn't exist anymore.

I also notice that a highly visible subset of drivers have continued to behave this way even after the return to "normal." They're usually identifiable by the ownership of a Nissan Altima with haphazardly applied window tint, often spotted squeezing up the shoulder to run a red light into traffic without bothering to look first.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

That or a Dodge Ram

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[–] MeanEYE 15 points 10 months ago

Keep making 65 lane stroads with wider lanes and place pedestrians in the last place of priority. It's bound to help.

[–] fubo 9 points 10 months ago (2 children)

What the hell is going on in Arizona and New Mexico? They have much higher rates of pedestrian fatalities than adjoining states.

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[–] ObsidianZed 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

This seems to match another trend that I feel like I've been seeing (though no real evidence). I know as we get older everything always seems to get worse, more expensive, shorter, etc. Though I genuinely feel like a lot of drivers are getting worse. I imagine it's due to an increase of instant gratification and heightened sense of entitlement. "IT'S MY TURN! YOU'RE GOING TOO SLOW! I'M GOING FASTER, I DESERVE TO BE IN FRONT OF YOU! I'M TRYING TO GET TO (some destination that's probably very similar to everyone else's destination) AND IT'S URGENT!"

Weirdly my range of responses have also increased. They range from 'unreasonable anger that someone can feel such entitlement' to 'oh well, I half expected that to happen'. I try to lean towards the latter, which actually helps me to be a better driver. I usually always say 'a safe driver is a predictable driver', but also supplement that with 'just assume everyone around you is stupid and will make bad decisions'. Ironically, the bad drivers tend to be the most easily predictable.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

A large factor is probably the increase of phone use. I've walked into a lot of shit looking at my phone.

[–] them 25 points 10 months ago (2 children)

A large factor is probably the increase of phone use. I've driven into a lot of shit looking at my phone.

[–] MisterChief 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

A large factor is probably the increase of phone use. I've flown into a lot of shit looking at my phone.

[–] MeatPilot 7 points 10 months ago

A large factor is probably the increase of phone use. I've sailed into a lot of shit looking at my phone.

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[–] BeautifulMind 4 points 10 months ago

Corollary data for cyclist fatalities shows a similar increase over the same timeframe https://bikeleague.org/new-fatality-data-for-2021-shows-increase-in-bicyclist-deaths/

Of the 1,230 bicyclist deaths in 2021, 853 died in motor-vehicle crashes and 377 in other incidents, according to National Center for Health Statistics mortality data. https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/home-and-community/safety-topics/bicycle-deaths

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