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U.S. Pedestrian Road Deaths Reach Highest Toll Since 1990, Report Says

posted by martyb on Friday March 01 2019, @05:35PM   Printer-friendly
from the not-so-smart-phone-use dept.

AnonTechie writes:

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.

U.S. Pedestrian Road Deaths

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 02 2019, @10:40AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 02 2019, @10:40AM (#809092)

    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.

    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.