"Why Are So Many Pedestrians Killed by Cars in the US?" Analysis

[John Clark]

Thought some folks in here might find this post I came across interesting: https://www.construction-physics.com/p/why-are-so-many-pedestrians-killed

The author uses NHTSA data and some other sources to break down the trends that seem like they may be contributing to the uniquely American rise in pedestrian fatalities to try to narrow in on a direct cause. As is probably predictable, there's not necessarily one cause (and some aspects aren't necessarily discussed - such as inconsistent crash data reporting, reduction in traffic enforcement, etc.), but it's still an interesting piece that puts some stats to the common theories (rise in SUVs, speeding, etc.)

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John Clark (he | him | his)

[Chaning C]

“But since 2009, pedestrian deaths have surged.”

That’s right when the masses started using smart phones…enter the age of the distracted and checked out zombies. 

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[Derek Pelletier]

Thanks for sharing this, John. Super interesting.

On Thu, Oct 9, 2025 at 8:55 AM John Clark <jmcla...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Damon Yakovleff]

Thanks very much for sharing, John. It is striking how much worse this problem is than in other countries that are otherwise similar. I think the "Big SUV" hypothesis does seem to be a good candidate, although as the study outlines doesn't explain everything. I do wonder if it's really a combination of factors, big vehicles, poor road designs, and auto dependence PLUS more distractions.  

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[Michael Dixon]

[With apologies to those who have heard me get on this soapbox before...]

Funny you should mention 2009.  Here's another thing that happened in 2009.

"In 2009, multiple traffic safety stakeholders began the dialogue toward creating a national strategic highway safety plan at a workshop in Savannah, Georgia. The majority of participants expressed that there should be a highway safety vision to which the nation aspires, even if at that point in the process it was not clear how or when it could be realized. This group concluded that the elimination of highway deaths is the appropriate goal, as even one death is unacceptable. With this input from over 70 workshop participants and further discussions with the Steering Committee following the workshop, the name of this effort became “Toward Zero Deaths: A National Strategy on Highway Safety.”'  

Sound familiar?  Sound bold?  It's not.  It's a snow job.  

Read closely, and you realize that, in 2009, major transportation stakeholders in the US actually rejected the evidence-based road safety strategies that had already been proven in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, etc., and instead adopted a nationwide strategy that prioritized marketing, communications, and individual user accountability while it deprioritized actual safe road infrastructure.

(Not to mention that the US consistently completely fails to consider or invest in any transportation alternatives to automobiles.)

Coincidence?

Sweden adopted Vision Zero in 1997 and has cut its traffic fatalities in half.

The US adopted "TZD" and...this is what we got: motor vehicle deaths up overall and pedestrian deaths up 78%.

Big cars?  Cell phones?  Speed?  Maybe.  

But how about the utter lack of a real, evidence-based transportation safety strategy?

28 years after Sweden, Portland has finally adopted Vision Zero.

How about we make Portland a model (along with the few other jurisdictions who have done the same) for the kind of true road safety that could one day exist nationwide?

On Thu, Oct 9, 2025 at 1:10 PM Derek Pelletier <dpe...@gmail.com> wrote:

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