The shocking rise of pedestrian deaths

Traffic accidents have been rising for years, with 38,360 deaths on the road reported in 2020 despite people staying home due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A large percentage of these fatalities involve pedestrians. A recent report from the Governors Highway Safety Association determined that drivers "struck and killed at least 7,508 people walking in 2022."

This marks the highest number of pedestrian deaths in the U.S. since 1981 and averages out to 20 deaths every day. The actual number is likely even higher, the GHSA noted, since the state of Oklahoma was unable to provide 2022 data due to a technical problem.

While there are many cited causes of rising vehicle-on-vehicle traffic accidents — such as emptier roads due to the pandemic, distracted driving and speeding — there are also a wide variety of causes that have led to increased deaths among pedestrians. Some of these problems overlap with the causes of vehicle-on-vehicle accidents, GHSA data shows, but there are also some unique circumstances causing more people crossing the street to lose their lives. Why are so many pedestrians being cut down?

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Infrastructure issues

Problematic infrastructure in the U.S. has been well-documented and continues to be an issue for drivers, despite the passage of a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package. Many places in the U.S. are lacking in proper pedestrian infrastructure, the GHSA reported, including "pedestrian refuge islands" that "provide walkers a safe place to stop at the midpoint of the roadway before crossing the remaining distance." This can be particularly helpful with older people who can't cross the street as quickly, the report stated.

Several crosswalk visibility enhancements would also go a long way toward stopping pedestrian deaths, according to the GHSA. Specialized signals, which are already available in many other countries, "could also allow pedestrians to activate a series of warning and stop beacons for drivers in areas without the high pedestrian traffic volumes that typically warrant full traffic signal installation." Poor street designs can also account for additional deaths. In 2021, "most pedestrian deaths happened after dark and on roads where there were no sidewalks," The New York Times reported.

SUV spike

Another problem: Cars are simply getting bigger. In 2018, a study released by the Institute of Highway Safety (IHS), cited by NPR, found that "among all types of vehicles, SUVs had the biggest spike in single-vehicle fatal pedestrian crashes, and crashes were increasingly likely to involve high-horsepower vehicles." In an eight-year window from 2008 to 2016, total traffic crashes involving SUVs increased by 81%, the study found.

This is backed up by data from the GHSA, which shows that while pedestrian deaths from passenger cars decreased from 2018 to 2021, SUV deaths rose exponentially, from 1,234 to 1,773 in 2021. That year, there were more pedestrian deaths from SUVs and pickup trucks than from passenger vehicles — 40% to 35%, according to the data.

The design of an SUV is what typically makes it more deadly for walkers. "SUVs' front ends are higher and often more vertical, so they are more likely to hit a pedestrian in the head or chest, rather than the legs," NPR noted.

What can be done?

Both poor road design and increasing SUV ownership were cited as contributing factors by Angie Schmitt, the author of "Right of Way: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America." Rising pedestrian deaths are "a real crisis that's sort of flown under the radar," Schmitt told the Times. The author said that post-pandemic fixes need to be implemented to stop these deaths.

Schmitt told the Times that roads "need to be designed better, with more sidewalks and street lighting. She said pedestrian safety needs to be considered as well in vehicle design." This is in line with the GHSA's report, which stated that improving infrastructure and bettering traffic enforcement could help save lives.

The report shows that America continues to lag behind other countries in stopping this carnage, and "what makes all this particularly enraging is that reversing pedestrian deaths is incredibly easy in the grand scheme of things," Arwa Mahdawi opined for The Guardian. The U.S. doesn't "need to invent new technology. We don't need to spend gazillions of dollars on research and development to come up with a miracle cure," Mahdawi added. "We just need to implement some commonsense policy solutions and stop prioritizing car culture over everything else."