Far too many people walking, biking, and waiting for the bus die on North America’s streets. They don’t have to. Proven tools—from safer speed limit setting to safer street designs—have proven to save lives, and can quickly stem America’s traffic safety crisis. Here’s how.
The number of people struck and killed by drivers nationwide while walking increased by an astonishing 45 percent over the last decade (2010-2019). The four most recent years on record (2016-2019) are the most deadly years for pedestrian deaths since 1990. During this ten-year period, 53,435 people were hit and killed by drivers. In 2019, the 6,237 people killed is … Continued
Earlier this month the National Complete Streets Coalition walked through the finding of Dangerous by Design 2019 on a webinar and answered some top questions during the broadcast. While we weren’t able to get to all of the questions live, here are the answers to some popular questions we received.
Between 2005 and 2014, a total of 46,149 people were struck and killed by cars while walking. In 2014, the most recent year for which data are available, 4,884 people were killed by a car while walking—105 people more than in 2013. On average, 13 people were struck and killed by a car while walking every day in 2014. And between 2005 and 2014, Americans were 7.2 times more likely to die as a pedestrian than from a natural disaster. Each one of those people was a child, parent, friend, classmate, or neighbor. And these tragedies are occurring across the country—in small towns and big cities, in communities on the coast and in the heartland.
Yesterday, Smart Growth America’s National Complete Streets Coalition released Dangerous by Design 2014, a report documenting preventable pedestrian fatalities and what can be done to make our streets safer for everyone.
We hosted an online discussion with experts working on strategies and tactics to improve pedestrian safety in cities and towns nationwide.
If you weren’t able to join yesterday’s event, the recorded version is now available.
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Watch the archived webinar |
Speakers on yesterday’s call included Craig Chester, Press Manager, Smart Growth America; Stefanie Seskin, Deputy Director, National Complete Streets Coalition; Corinne Kisner, Program Manager, Designing Cities Initiative at National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO); Steven Spears, Principal, Design Workshop; and Amanda Day from Best Foot Forward in Orlando, FL.