Pedestrians are dying on U.S. roadways more than ever before, and one of the potential reasons might not surprise you.
A recent report published by the The Governors Highway Safety Association estimates that 2016 saw the largest annual increase of pedestrian deaths in the U.S. since the statistic started being tracked. The report estimates there were approximately 6,000 pedestrian deaths last year which, in addition to being an 11 percent increase from 2015, would be the highest figure seen in more than 20 years.
“This is unprecedented and, quite honestly, shocking,” Richard Retting, the report’s author, told CNN on Thursday. “I’ve been in the highway safety field 35 years, we just don’t see record increases, let alone consecutive years of record increases.”
The report cites an improved economy, an increase in walking as means of transportation and smartphone-related distractions as some of the potential reasons for the increase.
“The why is elusive. We don’t know all the reasons,” Retting told CNN. “Clearly lots of things are contributing. But not one of these other factors have changed dramatically.”
Although Retting didn’t pinpoint a specific reason for the spike, he acknowledged the potential dangers presented by people focusing on their phones instead of the roads.
“Somebody staring at their phone for two seconds at 40 mph has covered a very long distance,” he told CNN. “It’s not hard to imagine a pedestrian at the wrong place, wrong time, never being seen by the driver.”
The GHSA wrote the report using data from the first half of 2016 provided by 50 state highway offices and the District of Columbia. It says the data will be available in its entirety later this year.
Thumbnail photo via Pexels
