Chris Cherry
A disturbing upward tick in traffic-related deaths has alarmed researchers, with pedestrian-related fatalities up 13 percent in 2021.
Along with surges in deaths surrounding both multi-vehicle wrecks and incidents along urban roads, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration said that the increase in fatalities “is the highest number of fatalities since 2005 and the largest annual percentage increase in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System’s history.”
CEE Professor Chris Cherry was one of the transportation research experts that Popular Science talked to for the report.
A “survivable speed for most pedestrians is below 25-30 mph when hit by a car,” Cherry said. “Most pedestrians are getting hit on these state DOT, 45-mph arterial roadways.”
The full report can be read online at Popular Science.