October marks National Pedestrian Safety Month, where the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, invites stakeholders to help “create a transportation system for all people to easily and safely walk.” But why do we need a whole month on pedestrian safety? It’s because U.S. roads continue to be … Continued
While the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic upended many aspects of daily life, including how people get around, one terrible, long-term trend was unchanged: the alarming increase in people being struck and killed while walking. The number of people struck and killed while walking reached yet another new high in 2020. More than 6,500 people were struck and killed … Continued
the increasing size and weight of personal vehicles are also having an impact on the steadily increasing number of people struck and killed while walking. In addition to designing safer streets, improving vehicle design along four main criteria is also critical for reducing pedestrian fatalities.
After reading a report like this, some reporters, residents, and local leaders may be tempted to reach for increased traffic enforcement and financial penalties as an obvious solution. But relying on enforcement and financial penalties to solve issues that stem from street design cannot solve the epidemic of traffic fatalities. And even a simple traffic … Continued
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
Dangerous by Design 2021 chronicles the impact of street design on pedestrian deaths, but the increasing size of the vehicle fleet is also contributing to the growing numbers of people struck and killed while walking. Federal policymakers so far appear to be asleep at the switch.
Designing streets for slower speeds are directly connected to improving safety and reducing deaths. So what does it look like to prioritize safety over speed in practice?
The deadliest metro areas and states for people walking, rolling, or using other assistive devices have been identified in Dangerous by Design 2021. Read and share the report today.
For decades, state departments of transportation have treated pedestrian and cyclists fatalities like weather events: something that increases simply as people drive more, putting these deaths outside of the control of DOTs. But with COVID-19 proving this to be false, it’s past time for state DOTs to implement performance measures to reduce the number of people killed while walking or biking. Here’s our comparison of state safety targets.