Walking across the street is becoming more dangerous

By Changez Ali,  AP via Washington Post

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Last year was the deadliest year for pedestrians in the United States since 1996, according to a report by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association, which collects and analyzes data from state highway safety offices.

Preliminary data show that 5,997 pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents, an 11 percent increase from 2015, the report says.

The increase is part of a longer-term upward trend: Pedestrian fatalities increased 12 percent between 2006 and 2015 from 4,795 to 5,376, even while the total number of traffic fatalities decreased by 18 percent from 42,708 to 35,092 during that period. Pedestrians now account for 15 percent of all traffic fatalities [B' Spokes: That's 22.9% of all traffic fatalities for Maryland].

“Survivability is greatly improved in cars but the human body has not changed, so humans are as susceptible as before,” said association spokeswoman Kara Macek.

Driver and pedestrian error are a factor in many accidents. But recent research also blames a lack of engineering for safe walking environments -- and two studies published in the past year say that’s particularly true in low-income and immigrant neighborhoods.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/walking-across-the-street-is-becoming-more-dangerous/2017/05/17/b5e89d1a-3b35-11e7-a59b-26e0451a96fd_story.html