At some point in the day, everyone is a pedestrian. While pedestrian fatalities remain high, there was a 1.7% decrease in the number of pedestrians killed in traffic crashes in 2017, totaling 5,977 deaths, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.
Since 2014, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio has set a goal, or more specifically a “vision,” that traffic deaths and injuries on city streets is, in his words, “not acceptable and… serious crashes will no longer (be regarded) as inevitable. We won’t accept this any longer.”
More Americans are bicycling or walking to work these days, getting healthy exercise and doing their bit to reduce traffic and air pollution. But with little government investment in safety measures, such as protected bike lanes and sidewalks, more cyclists and pedestrians also are getting killed.
Preliminary data released by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show a 7.7 percent increase in motor vehicle traffic deaths in 2015. An estimated 35,200 people died in 2015, up from the 32,675 reported fatalities in 2014.
Pedestrians and bicyclists far safer there than in U.S.
April 28, 2016
Copenhagen, Denmark; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and Oslo, Norway face many of the same challenges as cities in the United States, including: rapid growth, urbanization, congestion, climate change and increased freight traffic yet on a recent visit there, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx navigated city streets safely on a bicycle.
With the start of a new school year fast approaching, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reminds all drivers, students and parents to put safety first in school zones and near bus stops.
On a July afternoon in New Orleans last year, Philip Geeck was riding his bicycle in a marked bike lane on a busy street. Approaching an intersection, he came up alongside a tractor-trailer truck hauling a tank of chemicals.
Mayors and team leaders from 85+ cities are preparing to attend a Safer People, Safer Streets Summit in March, as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) “Mayors’ Challenge for Safer People and Safer Streets” – an initiative intended to make bicycle and pedestrian safety a priority on the nation’s roads.
With kids out of school – and frequently riding bicycles or playing in neighborhood streets, the the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is reminding everyone about safety tips to keep kids and everyone else safe this time of year.