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.
(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.