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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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Anyone can make an omelet with eggs. The trick is to make one with none.
(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.