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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/12581895
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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It’s worth noting that in most other rich countries, pedestrian deaths have been falling. And before anyone says something stupid about how America is uniquely big or new, even Canada has 60% fewer traffic fatalities.
Since this isn’t Reddit I find the likelihood of some dumbass coming in trying to claim that America is somehow uniquely exceptional is pretty low. Though I would grant that America’s exceptionally awful…
Alas, I’ve read tons of comments, even on this community, about how the US is “too big” for trains or walkable cities to work. I think the car-centric mindset cuts across the political spectrum — or put another way, the topic hasn’t been fully politicized yet.
Stupid car centric city designs + stupid oversized SUVs = more pedestrian deaths
The fact that the Cybertruck is allowed on the roads in the us is all you need to know about why pedestrians are dying
It’s not just car-centric Euclidean zoning and suburban sprawl.
The US also builds really dangerous stroads that you don’t really see in most other countries.
5+ lanes of 55mph traffic next to a sidewalk and tons of driveways for businesses is inherently unsafe.
It’s also interesting to note that the biggest spike in fatalities was during the pandemic.
The best explanation I’ve heard is that bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic essentially disappeared with the switch to WFH during the pandemic. Streets artificially looked safer pre-pandemic due to drivers getting stuck in traffic at peak periods. The pandemic just revealed how inherently unsafe American stroads are.
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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.
The way car companies are working around this legislation is why it’s so hard to find and buy smaller sized cars
In totally, completely, and in all ways unrelatedly: smartphones on the rise, gigantic pickups and suvs are on the rise, and tactile buttons you can hit without looking at a screen are on the decline.
and anecdotally it seems like since covid and not driving as much, everyone seems to have gotten worse at driving and still hasn’t quite picked it back up yet.
Now show me how much larger the average vehicle got during that time as well.
…about 77%
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just this morning some idiot didn’t want to stop at a crosswalk in a 25mph downtown area…
the car that stopped going the other direction happened to be a cop car (who incidentally almost got rear-ended by some other idiot not paying attention).
as i stepped onto the curb on the other side of the road, i saw red and blue flashing behind me and heard them on their PA ordering the driver to pull over and stop at the next corner.
I feel like I’ve seen this exact scenario plenty of times except the red and blue flashing lights never come on - the cop just lets it go
ya, it was a first for me. cops around here often don’t stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk until after a car runs 'em over.
So why is this? The answers so far seem unsatisfactory, since things like phones, SUVs and car-centric infrastructure are on the rise in other countries as well, without that staggering rise in deaths.
I spent about 3 minutes browsing the report linked in the article, and am rather less confident than before. For example, on pages 25 and 26 they look at the share of SUVs in deaths and sales. And while both figures are rising, the bodycount from non-SUVs has gone up as well.
The answer is probably not a single factor anyways. Can anyone make a more or less informed guess what might explain the US being so bad?
I live in Sweden but my girlfriend is from Seattle so I have visited there a couple of times. There are a few cultural differences that I think play a major part in why pedestrian deaths have gone up in America but not elsewhere.
As already mentioned in this thread Americans tend to be more relaxed about using their phones when driving. It didn’t seem like a big deal to read a text message or anything.
Another thing is reflective clothing. Driving at night in Washington I saw nobody wearing anything reflective at all. Here in Sweden outside of city centers at night more often than not pedestrians will wear something reflective to actually be visible.
Lastly the drunk driving culture was very different. In Sweden people would hesitate to have a drink with lunch if they knew they had to drive later that day. In America we went to a brewery whilst waiting for the ferry.
how is it troubeling? a nation that is about to vote trump is troubled by more dead pedestrians? LOL.
also it is still an exotic death…arent you more likely to be shot in school?
america is in self-purge mood because of its identity crisis.
the machines require blood
every culture engages in human sacrifice
It could be way more consensual
Other discussion pointed out this is when smartphones came out.
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Modal transport design is probably a huge reason why this works. I would be interested to see the pedestrian deaths in a packed busy city like NYC vs the wide suburban roads of the rest of America.
My theory is that roads designed with the purpose of driving faster (designed with a higher modal level) are commonly placed within high pedestrian areas within the US (Stroads) and due to that higher modal mental state people are “comfortable” and thus use their phones as their brains are less occupied. While in a busy city street they’re in that 1st modal mental state so they are focused on their surroundings way more.
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I was listening to a breakdown of this study on a New York Times podcast. It has to do with huge cultural differences between how Europeans and Americans interact with smartphones in cars, particularly because most cars in the United States are automatic and most cars in Europe are stick shifts, meaning that it’s very difficult for Europeans to screw around with her phones while they’re driving. Driving a car with a manual transmission requires both hands, meaning drivers, don’t have a free hand to fiddle with their phones.
Another part of the explanation for the difference between the United States and Europe in this regard is that suburban United States cities are designed in the auto age and designed very much around cars with a complete disregard for pedestrian safety, particularly at night. American pedestrians in these cities have to walk much farther and around much larger and more dangerous roads to get to their destinations, while having access to poor or even nonexistent transit networks. 
edit: one other data point they mentioned was the homeless, and while that population was rising in 2009, it sharply began to rise in 2016. these are people who are the most vulnerable in our society already, who often dwell near dangerous roads, highway overpasses, etc., and especially at night. Homeless people account for a significant portion of the increase in pedestrian fatalities in certain regions.
I drive automatic in Europe. Simply it is illegal to have a mobile in your hand while driving. Fees are very high, and the license is suspended minimum 2 weeks
while i’m certain that automatic transmissions indeed do exist in Europe, i was simply referring to the fact that they’re far less common there.
but the fact that distracted driving is punished far more severely there, however, DOES have a major impact on how less common that habit is in European driver culture. also, probably, the culture of giving more of a damn about your fellow citiens than your average American does.
Manuals are a dying breed just like in the US.
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according to the study, small cars have been responsible for just as many fatalities - or not an amount disproportionate to their number - in the US, so it’s not really big car problem as much as you might suppose. this may have to do with that drivers of small cars can often drive more recklessly, but that’s speculation. And, sure, you can fiddle with your phone with a manual transmission, but, seemingly, most don’t. The difficulty makes it far, far, less likely.
but the biggest takeaways from he study seems to be 1) modern road/highway infrastructure in the US is built to get as many cars moving as fast as possible and give little-to-no consideration to pedestrians or their safety, and this need to change, and 2) the particularly American culture around in-car smartphone use needs to change via far harsher penalties for distracted diving and other behaviors which endanger pedestrians.
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As an American I didn’t even think of the automatic transmission. That makes a lot of sense too.
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That’s the article not the podcast
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Yeah, it took me to the article, not the podcast. You being an asshole about it doesn’t change that fact.
Blocked
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Also coincides with the rise of crossovers and pickups.
If America is anything like Canada, it’s because of the insane uptick in people just darting into traffic to avoid using crosswalks.
Seriously. Driving in Canada is like playing reverse whack a mole. You have to be on the lookout for jaywalkers darting across busy ass roads constantly.
phones.
So why was there such a big spike in deaths during the pandemic, essentially limited to the US?
They have phones in the Netherlands, too, but didn’t see the spike in deaths. Are the Dutch naturally more responsible drivers or something?
Are the Dutch naturally more responsible drivers or something?
Maybe: https://www.dutchreach.org/
But don’t take that as a conclusive answer, your question still stands.
Most people having cellphones is a thing since at least 20 years. Most of these being smartphones is a thing since at least 10 years.
How would that relate to an increase in drivers killing pedestrians in the past few years and on top of it, lowering levels in most other places
