The number of pedestrians hit and killed on U.S. roads has surged to the highest level [PDF] in almost three decades, new data indicates, while suggesting that a rise in SUVs and smartphone use may be to blame.
Last year, 6,227 pedestrians were killed in road fatalities — a 51 percent increase compared to 2009, according to a preliminary estimate published Thursday by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA). The D.C.-based non-profit said the 2018 figure is the highest recorded since 1990.
Five states—Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia and Texas—accounted for 46 percent of all pedestrian deaths, despite representing just 33 percent of the U.S. population, according to Census data. California had the largest number, at 432.
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U.S. Pedestrian Road Deaths Reach Highest Toll Since 1990, Report Says
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(Score: 1, Flamebait) by Revek on Friday March 01 2019, @05:38PM (13 children)
Walked in to traffic looking at his phone, would you?
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(Score: 2) by NewNic on Friday March 01 2019, @06:04PM (9 children)
Little Billy was hit by an SUV which killed him, when a sedan might not have.
lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
(Score: 0, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Friday March 01 2019, @06:13PM (2 children)
Little Billy was hit by an SUV which killed him, when an asteroid might not have. If wishes were SUV's we'd all have one.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 01 2019, @06:32PM
Damn how many SUV's do you buy??
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 01 2019, @09:33PM
The difference is that an SUV sits up higher, which both makes it harder to see shorter people and tends to hit people above their center of mass, causing them to be knocked over and run over rather than going over the hood of the car.
In neither case is this something that's good for people, but the SUV collisions tend to be worse because of that in addition to the extra mass and the fact that SUV drivers are assholes.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 01 2019, @07:18PM (5 children)
If little Billy had actually looked both ways before he crossed, and had he noticed the oncoming SUV and not stepped out in front of it, he never would have been hit.
There seems to be a large subset of pedestrians who disconnect their entire "self-preservation" reflex in their brains when it comes to crosswalks and they simply barrel forward, without looking (with or without cell phones as a distraction) under the assumption that because they have the right of way, the cars will stop. The part that does not work here is when they fail to notice the car that is 100 feet away that needs 150 feet to stop for them, and step out in front of it anyway, resulting in getting hit.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 01 2019, @07:45PM (3 children)
Or, maybe the drivers should get off of their cell phones and slow down to a reasonable speed when they see a crosswalk or intersection ahead.
There seems to be a subset of drivers who think it is okay to drive while interacting with cellphones and who think that anything other than a car on the road is not worth their attention.
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 01 2019, @08:48PM
Just because someone is an idiot, does not mean everyone in that group are idiots.
I've said this before, there should be no right of way to pedestrians. Why, because even if pedestrians were right and had a moral/ethical/whatever right to do it, when they get hit by a car, atleast 2 lives get destroyed.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Saturday March 02 2019, @12:19AM (1 child)
No. We should ban vehicles. Think of the children.
(Score: 2) by DeVilla on Monday March 04 2019, @05:37PM
Oh. I thought this was working towards banning walking.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by urza9814 on Friday March 01 2019, @08:09PM
Not necessarily. A few weeks back I was walking down the street, past the local park. As I approached the park entrance (not an intersection, no traffic lights or anything, like any driveway/parking lot), I looked back to ensure no cars were turning in. Seeing only one big SUV, not too far back and without a turn signal active, I figured it was safe to cross. As I was about halfway across, that SUV came barreling past, not more than six inches in front of my face, and didn't even slow down. Went flying by so fast I could barely read the big POLICE logo along the side...
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 01 2019, @08:45PM
That might be part of it. But, at least around here, I've noticed far more people jaywalking than they did even a few years ago. There's also far more people texting while driving and more people driving in general.
I'm not sure if that's the case in other areas, but a lot of this has to do with the increasingly anti-police attitude of the city officials. The cops just don't seem interested in enforcing the law these days in large part due to a bunch of whiny people of color that are upset about being cited for illegal activities.
The extra congestion and increasingly dangerous intersections that the city DOT is purposefully encouraging can't be helping. Last month, I was riding with my mother and a pedestrian ran out in front of her car just before she was about to pull away. Thankfully she saw him just in time to involve running him over, but the intersection was only like 50 feet away. Unfortunately, I doubt very much that he learned his lesson.
(Score: 2) by Revek on Saturday March 02 2019, @03:46AM
Ohhh someone is feeling the truth. Not troll, just a modern upgrade to a old saying.
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(Score: 2) by DeVilla on Monday March 04 2019, @06:48PM
How would I know if Little Billy walked into traffic if I'm looking at my phone?
(Score: 0, Troll) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Friday March 01 2019, @05:39PM
You say that like I should dump my APPL.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 01 2019, @05:40PM (6 children)
I am sure someone can come up with a palatable solution (one that involves raising taxes and more spying).
(Score: 3, Touché) by bob_super on Friday March 01 2019, @06:36PM (5 children)
Ban walking.
The extra gas usage and wear on the cars will result in the tax revenue you allude to, while saving money on sidewalks.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 01 2019, @07:50PM (2 children)
Here in Cali... They installed wheelchair ramps on every sidewalk corner, and audible (ping) pedestrian walk signals at every traffic light. It cost millions of dollars just for the San Diego area to do these upgrades. I haven't seen one blind person or wheelchair use these, especially dumb is the one at the end of a dead end street at the top of a steep hill that no wheel chaired person could ever get to. The potholes remain though...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 01 2019, @08:48PM
Those are required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. You should be seeing the same thing in every city.
I know I've been seeing a lot of that locally the last few years. Ramps being cut in with those textured patches and they regularly replace the cross walk buttons with ones that talk and beep to help the blind.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 02 2019, @05:49PM
If you're not disabled or in chronic ill heath or not able to leave your house for a walk, you should be weeping with gratitude while paying the inconvenience of taxes. What is it 37% top rate? Absolute bargain. Now get back on your couch and whine on the internet.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday March 01 2019, @08:02PM (1 child)
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday March 01 2019, @08:10PM
Can't seem to find any pills to treat an excessively large penis.
(Score: 1, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Friday March 01 2019, @06:34PM (8 children)
132% of those pedestrians killed were intoxicated. 17% of those drivers who killed a pedestrian were intoxicated.
Simple solution? Require the bars to get a taxi deposit from all customers before serving the first drink. Keep those drunks from walking or driving home! Get some drunken Uber driver to drive them home instead.
(Score: 5, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Friday March 01 2019, @06:36PM (2 children)
Uhhhhhh, helluva typo. 32% of those pedestrians killed were intoxicated. To get 132%, the dead people would have to crawl back to the bar to get drunk/drunker/drunkest. Damn those zombies!
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 01 2019, @06:39PM
don't worry.
the summary says that 432*5 = 46% of 6227.
you're in good company.
(Score: 4, Funny) by bob_super on Friday March 01 2019, @06:40PM
When a Zombies gets shitfaced, whose brains does he puke out ?
(Score: 5, Interesting) by edIII on Friday March 01 2019, @09:16PM (3 children)
I don't think it's alcohol. That's been available before 1990, and the entire time since. Why have the pedestrian deaths increased? They said smart phone usage, and that one I believe, because I can fucking see it on a daily basis. I'm a very attentive offensive driver. I never drive defense, always offense as if the others around me are complete fucking idiots at all times. I look at not just the car, but the driver and what they're doing. I've seen women putting on makeup a few times in accordance with the stereo type, but what I've seen increase many times over in the last 20 years, is people looking at their phones while driving and at intersections. I honk several times per week when those dipshits are holding up the left turn lane. These idiots drift in their lanes, slow down to much, or in the worst cases, are still driving fast while trying to divide their attention equally between a phone and the road.
I'm honestly afraid now of walking. I can see one of these assholes drifting up onto the sidewalk and nailing a pedestrian. Yes, pedestrians suffer from the same smart phone bullshit, so it's a perfect storm of obliviousness on all sides.
Regardless though, people don't have a right to drive cars, and they do have a right to walk. If you're licensed to drive a vehicle, you are responsible. Pedestrians on smartphones are not an excuse to hit them in a parking lot, and drivers are responsible. You have to demonstrate that a driver didn't have the reaction time to evade the pedestrian that just steps into traffic.
We need new laws that put people in jails for 2 weeks for each infraction of using a smartphone while driving. The only excuse is mapping software, and hands free voice calls. In both cases, you can cheaply and easily mount it to the dashboard/vents. I believe the 3rd infraction should result in the suspension of your driving license. We don't need new taxes or surveillance either, since if I can see these dipshits doing it, police can see the dipshits doing it. They need to be punished, not fined. That's the only thing I can see that would put a dent in this.
Previously, I've argued that AI in cars is a bad idea, and that AI would reduce our rights by controlling where we can and cannot go like Minority Report. At this point though, once AI can drive, I think it should be mandated for ALL cars. Humans that want to drive would need even stricter licensing and continual testing, at the same level pilots do. Only professional drivers should be allowed on the road that are willing to take it as seriously as flying.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday March 01 2019, @09:31PM (1 child)
You'll get little argument from me there. I did point out the high rate of intoxication because a sober person texting and driving is a danger - but a drunk texting and driving is many times more dangerous. A sober pedestrian can and does usually get away with focusing on his cell phone, but the drunk pedestrian obviously fares worse than the sober one.
I agree - when you get behind the wheel, your unfocused attention should be on driving. Don't drink and drive, don't text and drive, don't argue with the wife or kids behind the wheel - just focus on driving.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 02 2019, @10:40AM
Here's an idea: make those phones smart enough to detect user drunkenness and stop working while in movement.
That will at least give the users a reason to pay more attention to the phone and disregard the rest of the world.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Saturday March 02 2019, @12:25AM
At first I thought it was a typo but from the second sentence, it cracked me up.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Friday March 01 2019, @10:35PM
"Get some drunken Uber driver to drive them home instead."
AND molest them!
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday March 01 2019, @06:35PM (2 children)
What's the correlation with painkiller use?
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday March 01 2019, @06:36PM
I think we posted about the same time - look at figure 10 in the PDF.
(Score: 3, Touché) by c0lo on Saturday March 02 2019, @10:42AM
Would you like an anti-depressant pill before going to walk, sir? (grin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Friday March 01 2019, @06:55PM (15 children)
One of our local schools is located right on the highway. The school buildings are mostly located on the east side of the highway. The football field and athletics building is on the west side of the highway. I drive through the campus just about the time that football or basketball games are ending. People cross the highway to get to their cars. They almost always use the crosswalk provided - but there is no lighting at the crosswalk. Especially on wet nights, a body in the crosswalk is little more than a shadow.
I've suggested some lighting, and offered this PDF to help justify the cost.
Who thinks it will do any good?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 01 2019, @07:23PM (2 children)
What PDF?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday March 01 2019, @07:38PM
The PDF linked to in TFS - https://www.ghsa.org/sites/default/files/2019-02/FINAL_Pedestrians19.pdf [ghsa.org]
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Friday March 01 2019, @10:36PM
WHOOOOOOSHHHH
That was the SUV, killing another AC.
Sad, really.
Poor AC: i knew him, Horatio!
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 01 2019, @07:29PM (11 children)
In my area, the middle school and high school I went to are right next to each other. On the other side of the road, are a series of low-rent majority-minority population apartment complexes (suburban ghetto). There are /no/ sidewalks connecting these places to the school, and no bus service because they live within half a mile. So everyday, hundreds of kids are walking on the side of the rather busy road with a high speed limit and not crossing at a designated crossing (because the closest will put you a mile out of your way). Years of writing letters got a sidewalk onto the city "priority" list, but it still hasn't been built despite being #2 on the priority list for the past 3 years. I'm dangerously close to running for public office just to rectify this situation.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Friday March 01 2019, @07:41PM (7 children)
Good luck, man. It's amazing how people say "think of the children", but a little paint, some lighting, and maybe even a speed limit sign "25 MPH when children are present" is too much to ask.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by urza9814 on Friday March 01 2019, @08:14PM (5 children)
Fuck, around here I'd settle for just having THE GODDAMN POLICE obey laws about yielding for pedestrians in crosswalks, using their damn turn signal before damn near mowing down pedestrians crossing driveways or parking lot entrances, obeying speed limits in school zones, etc. Signs and paint don't do a damn thing when these shitheads think they don't apply to them...I have been nearly killed by police officers while crossing at designated crosswalks more often than other motorists, and in multiple states (I've had such incidents in both PA and RI.)
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Friday March 01 2019, @10:00PM (2 children)
Police work is highly attractive to the same hypocrites who scream "think of the children", but really mean "think of the children of rich white Protestants, and the devil with poor brown kids." They like police work because it gives them that power trip they crave to make up for the utter insignificance of their little lives. Those same people also like holding political office.
You're complaining about the same people as the GGP. Have you complained to the city? It might or might not motivate them to pay attention to that problem, but good to have it on the record so they can't say they had no idea whatsoever that their police were endangering pedestrians. Cities have lots of problems, and sometimes something has to make them rearrange their priorities to get action. You know, cop runs over and kills someone in a crosswalk. And family of the victim sues the city for millions and wins. If you could catch the cops on camera, and post the video online and it goes viral, that will get the city to pay attention to that problem.
Or, you could try like the GP. Run for office.
(Score: 2) by dltaylor on Saturday March 02 2019, @12:33AM (1 child)
Around here, showing an LEO breaking the law means you should be prepared to move out of the area (or state/country, with the reach of the internet). You are likely to be harassed, and each "incident" is a life-or-death encounter.
(Score: 2) by urza9814 on Monday March 04 2019, @12:40PM
Hell, a couple months ago a friend of mine yelled at a cop after seeing him throw a McDonalds bag out his window. That cop then started stalking her, following her home, parking in front of her apartment and watching her through her window. He kept this up for freakin' MONTHS. All because he got called out for fucking littering.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 01 2019, @10:04PM (1 child)
Get a go-pro, or two - front and rear, and start posting those videos to youtube.
Seriously.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 02 2019, @01:05AM
Polices cars continuously record the number plates of all cars around them. You might be able to post one video and they not be sure which car it was, but post two and your car will show up in both lists. You are nailed.
(Score: 2) by DeVilla on Monday March 04 2019, @05:46PM
Naw. That's when the people who usually complain about over-protective helicopter parents come out to say the parents aren't being protective enough.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 02 2019, @05:56PM (2 children)
Here's a thought... If you are walking and someone approaches you dangerously with a deadly weapon and you fear for your life, aren't you entitled to shoot that motherfucker in self defense?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 02 2019, @06:25PM (1 child)
Depends on the state. The answer is "NO!" in too many.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 03 2019, @02:01AM
You mean states where the people actually value human life as opposed to shithole states like Florida?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 02 2019, @12:18AM (2 children)
It is disappointing to see a report drawing conclusions from the absolute number of incidents without also considering the increase in the number of vehicle-miles traveled and people over the same period.
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics indicates that the vehicle-miles traveled increased 236,472 million vehicle-miles, from 2,976,528 million vehicle-miles in 2008 to 3,213,000 million vehicle-miles in 2017. https://www.bts.gov/content/motor-vehicle-safety-data [bts.gov] Meanwhile the US Census indicates that the population grew from 308,745,538 in 2010 to 328,231,337 in 2017. https://www.census.gov/popclock/ [census.gov]
Isn't it to be expected that more vehicles traveling more miles with more people walking around will be involved in more incidents on an absolute scale?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 02 2019, @12:42AM (1 child)
Of course not. Drivers have just become more homicidal. Isn't that a simpler explanation?
</sarcasm> for all the cyclists and pedestrians and other people with no sense of humor
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Saturday March 02 2019, @03:43AM
The laughing dead?
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by iWantToKeepAnon on Saturday March 02 2019, @12:23AM
"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." -- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
(Score: 3, Interesting) by dltaylor on Saturday March 02 2019, @12:28AM
These are mostly warm-weather states, at least in their southern regions. Has there been any research as to the ages of the drivers and/or pedestrians involved? We've had a couple of high-profile aged-person-who-should-not-have-been-driving events in California.
BTW, what about electric cars? Are they more/less/average involved in pedestrian accidents, relative to their numbers on the road?
(Score: 3, Informative) by Phoenix666 on Saturday March 02 2019, @03:02PM
Traffic safety is a hobby horse of mine. I strongly favor transportation alternatives--mass transit, cycling, walking, and traffic calming. I've been a card-carrying member, off and on, of Transportation Alternatives in NYC for 20 years, and have been a vocal supporter of NYC's Vision Zero to eliminate traffic-related deaths in the city.
Also being a regular driver in the Tri-State area over that period I have observed a marked increase in poor, distracted driving and the accidents and delays that result. I do blame cell phones.
When I'm walking with my kids in our neighborhood and we see pedestrians walking out into traffic with their eyes glued to their phones, I make a point of pointing out to them what a deathwish that is, and how those people look like zombies, dumbly stumbling into light posts, hydrants, and other pedestrians.
So I am definitely a member of the audience who should accept the premise of this report uncritically. However, I don't.
The data show that some of the most populous states didn't see that much of a change, with New York slightly positive and California slightly negative. With most of the population overall and the largest urban populations by far, their pedestrian deaths should be crazy off the charts. Also, if you look at 2017 deaths vs. 2016 deaths, overall pedestrian deaths in the US actually declined. A more accurate and less alarmist title would be, "After Years of Increases, the Number of Pedestrian Deaths Declines."
Washington DC delenda est.