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.
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.
A few weeks ago, I was riding my bicycle on the street I live on, heading for a stop sign, when one of my neighbors driving their SUV passed me, not caring I was stopping at the stop sign. When I’m on my bike, I normally slow down and roll through this sign if it’s safe, but this time, a pickup was coming on the cross street. The neighbor rolled out right in front of the pickup without stopping - she was so intent on passing me that she completely ignored everything else. I even pointed at the truck because I had a feeling she was going to do that. Fortunately, the pickup was going slow enough to stop and avoid a collision. I just shook my head as the people in the pickup waved at me.
“Must Get In Front” is the term cyclists use for drivers that do stupid shit to pass us, only to pull into a driveway or something similar a moment later, instead of just waiting for a few seconds for the situation to resolve itself.