What has happened to the rate of American pedestrian traffic fatalities?
Data Scavenger Hunt
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, your big brain, and the links below:
By 2010 — thanks to better design of roads and vehicles, the addition of seat belts and greater awareness of drunken driving, among other things — the death rate from car crashes in the United States had fallen almost 90 percent from its 1920s level. According to the visual above, between 1980 to 2010 what happened to the level of U.S. pedestrian traffic deaths?
What was the level of U.S. pedestrian deaths per million residents in 2010?
After 2010 what happened to the level of U.S. pedestrian deaths per million residents?
According to the visual below,* after 2010 what happened to the level of pedestrian deaths in other wealthy nations?
If the U.S. had made as much progress reducing vehicle crashes as other high-income countries had over the past two decades, about 25,000 fewer Americans would die every year. Why do you think the U.S. doesn’t do more to protect its people?
There are a number of theories about why the U.S. pedestrian traffic rate has increased since 2010. The iPhone was first introduced in 2007. Within a few years, one-third of American adults owned a smartphone. Surveys suggest Americans spend more time on their phones while driving than people do in other countries. How do you think the proliferation of smart phones impacted the rate of pedestrian fatalities?
Nearly all cars in the U.S. are automatic transmission, freeing drivers’ hands (or so they may think) to use phones. In Europe, almost 75 percent of cars still have gears that a driver must change manually. How much do you think automatic transmission impacts traffic fatalities?
The spread of legal marijuana may also play a role, as may the rise in opioid addiction. In one recent federal study, half of the drivers involved in serious accidents tested positive for at least one active drug. In 2012 Colorado and Washington become the first two states to legalize the recreational use of cannabis. How much do you think drugs have impacted the rise in traffic fatalities?
Read more about the rise of traffic fatalities in the U.S., then considering the factors mentioned above: smart phone proliferation, differences in car transmission, and the legalization and increase in the use of drugs, identify which factor you believe has the biggest impact on traffic fatalities.
The U.S. has chosen to accept a vehicle death rate that is almost three times higher than that of Canada, Australia or France, more than four times higher than that of Germany or Japan and more than five times higher than that of Scandinavia, Switzerland or Britain. There are promising solutions that state and local governments have simply chosen not to try. Building safe sidewalks, as Europe has done, is relatively cheap. Using traffic cameras to identify drivers who are texting — and imposing significant fines on them — would not be difficult, either. What is one thing you think the U.S. government should do to reduce traffic fatalities?
Write and Discuss
Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.
Act on your Learning
Contact your U.S. House Representative or your state’s Governor and let them know what they should do about our pedestrian fatality rate.
Get Creative
Imagine your state governor really decided to lower pedestrian traffic fatalities to the level of other wealthy nations. Write a fictional (but realistic) headline about how your governor tackled this problem.
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