cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/39388453
xposted but original link (wapo) has been replaced w/archive.is
It’s a subset of hating cars generally, but it is also an infrastructure that is not pedestrian friendly, never really was, combined with aging road systems that were created with a different speed/size/flow rate than they support now. Add in possibly the fact that there simply are more people now, both in cars and on foot/bicycles than before in this problematic situation.
i remember reading about how SUV design kills by throwing people under the car instead of pushing upwards and onto the car.
I had a car/bike collision once and I’ve found myself on the hood. I had bruises but i walked off. If the car was a SUV, i would have ended up in the hospital.
Makes sense. How the collision takes place determines the damage. Then there’s the truck models that can’t even see in front of them and wouldn’t know they ran over someone.
I drive an MX-5 in the Midwest. I have to drive super aggressively just to avoid getting sideswiped by a goddamn monster truck. It’s been close dozens of times and I’ve only had it a year and a half. It’s often not the truck drivers fault (other than owning that giant hunk of shit).
Of course, when you teach pedestrians they can step in front of 2 tons of steel because they magically have the right of way or, teaching people to walk facing traffic then of course there will be more accidents. Facing traffic is particularly dangerous because typically a car pulling out to the right (here in the USA) will be yielding to their left and won’t see a pedestrian walking in front of them. Likewise, pedestrians facing traffic tend to walk on the road instead of the shoulder because eye contact gives them confidence they don’t deserve.
This is really concerning. I had no idea pedestrian deaths had surged so much in the US. It’s shocking to think that people are being killed while crossing the street. This highlights the importance of investing in road safety and proper infrastructure for pedestrians. It’s unacceptable for anyone to be killed in such a way, especially in this day and age where we have technology to help us navigate safely.
A lot of this is because cars have become significantly taller and heavier, making it harder for drivers to see pedestrians and more likely to kill them when they do.
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