By Fredrick Kunkle
Bicyclists and pedestrian advocates say a new report on the
steady increase in fatal hit-and-run crashes offers yet another reason to move
faster on redesigning streets and highways in a rapidly urbanizing world.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety said in a report this
week fatal hit-and-run crashes have reached the highest point on record in
2016, having increased by more than 7 percent every year since 2009. Nearly 65
percent of the victims are bicyclists and pedestrians.
The increase generally tracks an overall increase in traffic
deaths in recent years many safety experts attribute to a stronger economy and
more people on the road. Others say that, in addition to a growing number of
bicycle commuters, fatal crash rates for bicyclists and pedestrians could be
rising because more people are distracted drivers, thanks to the ubiquity of
smartphones. Some safety advocates suggest drivers can become so absorbed in
their phones they might not even be aware they have hit someone or driven a
bicyclist off the road.
“It’s horrible to hear,” said Ken McLeod, policy director
for the League of American Bicyclists who pedals to work in D.C. from his home
in Arlington. “We hear it from our members all the time that the behavior is
getting worse, and what’s worse than hit and run?”
[Bicyclists learn from bicyclists to break traffic laws.
Should we learn from them?]
In regard to crashes of all types, the National Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) says 5,376 pedestrians were killed in 2015, the
latest year for which there are data. That same year there were also 818 deaths
involving crashes between bicycles and cars, an increase of 12 percent from the
previous year.
Meanwhile, an average of 682,000 hit-and-run crashes have
been recorded every year since 2006, AAA says. In 2016, there were 2,049 deaths
from such crashes, which is the highest number on record. In the Washington
metro area alone, 228 people died from 2013 to 2016 in crashes where the driver
left the scene.
[This map shows the worst intersections for pedestrians in
D.C.]
McLeod said the higher overall rate for fatal crashes could
be a result of more bicyclists out there but there is no acceptable explanation
for hit-and-run crashes.
“That affects the crash rate. It shouldn’t affect the hit
and run,” he said.
McLeod said the report points up the need to move more
quickly to overhaul streets and roadways with a priority on pedestrian and
bicyclist safety instead of the speed of motor vehicles. In the meantime, he
called for better policing on the road and more traffic cameras that would
allow law enforcement to identify people who flee a crash. He speculated
distracted driving might also play a part.
“People are possibly more distracted and may not realize
that a crash was as serious as it was,” he said.
James Wilson, executive director for Biking Delaware, says
his state offers evidence the overall fatality rate for crashes involving
pedestrians and bicyclists has a lot to do with roadway engineering.
[Pedestrian deaths soar in uneven battles with vehicles]
Delaware in recent years earned a reputation as being one of
the most dangerous states for pedestrians. Though the number of pedestrians
overall is small there, the fatality rate is sky-high because the roads are so
poorly designed for people on foot, Wilson said. He said he believes that is
because years of development transformed his state from farmland into what is
almost one big suburb crisscrossed by roads designed for vehicular commuters,
not pedestrians.
“You may have never walked on roads like this,” he said.
“These are environments not set up for pedestrians. There are no sidewalks.
These are scary scary environments for pedestrians.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/tripping/wp/2018/04/28/cyclists-say-chilling-report-on-hit-and-run-crashes-points-up-need-to-redesign-streets-for-safety/?utm_term=.969385409818
