The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) is a nonprofit that calls itself “The States’ Voice on Highway Safety,” annually releasing a data and reports about what’s happening on U.S. roads. This year’s report on preliminary data for pedestrian deaths in 2022 is not good news. According to early GHSA figures for 49 states and Washington, D.C., 7,508 pedestrians died last year after being hit by vehicles. The true number is undoubtedly higher, though, because Oklahoma wasn’t able to submit its information due to a technical issue; that state has averaged 92 deaths over the past few years. Even as it stands, there haven’t been that many pedestrian fatalities in the U.S. since 1981.
The GHSA uses slightly different metrics than the U.S. government’s National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA
Worse, data sets from both organizations show the number has been rising s ince 2010, when NHTSA figures put the number of deaths at 4,302. Motorcyclists and cyclists are also enduring an uptick in traffic fatalities; however, the surge for pedestrians represents a 77% increase in the past 13 years, whereas the overall rise for other kinds of traffic fatalities is 25%. Even when driving miles decreased greatly in 2020, pedestrian deaths rose 4.7%
The brunt of deaths occur when it’s dark and on roads without sidewalks. Almost every cause you can imagine — and see on the road every day among fellow drivers — has been pegged as a potential contributor to the increase in deaths: larger vehicles, fewer pedestrian protections built into U.S. vehicles, more risky driving, distracted driving
Almost as many remedies have been suggested to lower the tally, but many — like red light cameras and lower speed limits — would anger drivers. As the NHTSA chief told the New York Times last year, “Motor vehicles are first, highways are first, and everything else is an afterthought.” The one we think most people could get behind is having more pedestrian islands. They’re a boon, and not just for pedestrians.
Developing a comprehensive approach to reversing the trend in pedestrian deaths will be high on the agenda at the GHSA annual meeting in August. The organization says traffic safety, public health, law enforcement and government and business leaders will join the event to consider more ways of further integrating the Safe System Approach, which the U.S. Department of Transportation
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