Personal Injury Blog

Lawmaker Proposes Amendment in Response to Increasing Pedestrian Accident Fatalities

December 22nd, 2011
pedestrian accident fatalities

The NHTSA is proposing an amendment to help decrease the amount of pedestrian accident fatalities

Last month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released its traffic accident fatality data for the 2010.  The good news was that traffic accident fatalities for the year had dropped to record lows.

The bad news was that pedestrian accident fatalities actually increased last year. In response to those increasing pedestrian death numbers, a lawmaker is proposing an amendment that would give federal transportation safety agencies greater authority to require states to implement pedestrian safety programs.

In 2010, the number of people who were killed in pedestrian accidents increased by 4.2%.  Further, there was an increase in the number of pedestrian accident injuries, spiking by a staggering 19 % from 59,000 in 2009 to 70,000 in 2010.  While safer automobiles, increased rates of seatbelt usage, reduced drunk driving and other factors have led to a decline in traffic accident deaths, they don’t seem to be doing much to keep pedestrians safer while walking.

Alarmed by the spike in pedestrian fatalities, Sen. Mark Begich Democrat-Alaska has introduced an amendment to S 1950 that would require the Department of Transportation to set standards for safety, and give the federal agency the authority to enact a Complete Streets policy.  Under the amendment, the Secretary of Transportation would be required to establish standards to ensure that the design of all surface transportation projects include proper planning, development and operation to benefit all users of transportation, including motorized as well as nonmotorized users.  States that choose to establish and amend their own policies to keep motorized as well as nonmotorized users safe can be given exceptions to this amendment.  The Transportation Sec. will have the discretion to determine whether the state has complied with the federal amendment.

An increase in pedestrian fatalities is definitely a matter of concern to San Diego pedestrian accident lawyers, especially as it comes after several years of declining pedestrian accident death rates.  For the past 4 years, pedestrian accident rates have been dropping steadily.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has an explanation for these increasing pedestrian fatalities.  The data however is still new, and will need to be analyzed further before any explanation can be provided.  However, federal transportation safety agencies have been making note of the increasing number of pedestrian distractions.  According to them, pedestrians now are more distracted by electronic communication devices including smart phones, iPods, and other devices while they are walking.  This increases the risks of an accident.  However, the rise in pedestrian fatalities also has lot to do with the fact that the increase in pedestrian deaths has not led to an increase in pedestrian safety aids on our roads.

 

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