Do federal, state, and local governments do enough to prevent pedestrian accidents in the United States? A new report says no. With 49,340 pedestrian deaths in a decade as of the end of 2017, pedestrian fatalities are an ongoing public health crisis. In 2016 and 2017 alone, 12,000 pedestrians lost their lives.
The Danger of Getting to Where You’re Going on Foot
People put themselves in danger of being involved in an auto accident every day when getting behind the wheel of a car. Pedestrians shouldn’t feel like they’re risking their lives by walking to and from their destination, but they are. Sixteen percent of people killed on roadways are now pedestrians.
“We are killing an airliner’s worth of people walking each and every month – and these numbers are only increasing,” says Emiko Atherton, director of the National Complete Street Coalition, which produced the “Dangerous by Design 2019” report along with the advocacy group Smart Growth America. They point the finger at many areas of risk for pedestrians:
- The lack of basic infrastructure for safe walking.
- Absence of crosswalks.
- Crosswalks spaced so far apart they are impractical.
- Unnecessarily wide lanes that encourage high speeds.
- Wide turning lanes allowing cars to turn right through crosswalks.
Designing crosswalks for fully mobile people who are moving at a brisk pace is a massive oversight. What about older adults who move more slowly or have a walker or cane to assist them? What about mothers with dawdling children? What about intersections where the light doesn’t stay green long enough to safely pass through the crosswalk? What about multi-lane roads that don’t have a median strip in the middle or are lacking shorter crosswalks to allow for safety stops?
Threats to Pedestrians in Michigan
The new 2019 pedestrian fatality study supports the information gathered in another recent report. “Death on Foot,” a 2018 investigation by the Detroit Free Press/USA TODAY, found that SUVs are a major cause of escalating pedestrian deaths. Any pedestrian hit by these large vehicles are more likely to be killed in a crash. Roadway design, vehicle speed, and distracted driving also factor into the fatality rate.
Michigan has a Complete Streets bill that was designed to make roads accessible to all legal users – motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Road projects should consider these three groups equally during planning and design so accommodations can be made where necessary. Unfortunately, no local road agencies are required to adopt the policy or spend money supporting the recommended efforts.
According to the 2019 report, people of color, older residents, and pedestrians walking in low-income communities are disproportionately affects by fatal pedestrian crashes.
If you have been involved in a pedestrian accident or lost a loved one as a result of a pedestrian crash, contact Thurswell Law to schedule a free consultation with one of our experienced and knowledgeable attorneys. Local government may be negligent in your accident, not just the motorist involved. We do not charge any fees unless you collect. Call (248) 354-2222 today.
