With the advent of advanced and stringent vehicular impact safety standards, and hefty penalties for bad driving, American roads appear to be safer than ever. However, the opposite is true, as the number of deaths due to road accidents has increased in recent years. But what contributes to American roads being so unsafe? Despite high standards across the board, vehicle and road design make our roads a scary place.
Insight from a US Department of Transportation report
In a study from 2011 to 2020, the US Department of Transportation reported 350,000 deaths on US roads. And while numbers fell sharply in previous decades, that trend has since reversed. Between 2020 and 2022, road fatalities in the United States rose sharply each year. Between 2019 and 2020, the study reports an increase of 7.1 percent. In 2021, the number increased by another 10.5 percent, resulting in nearly 43,000 deaths. While it is estimated that the numbers for 2022 will remain flat, American roads are increasingly dedicated to pedestrians and cyclists.
And, more powerful, vehicles and people they crash into receive more devastating damage. These effects are multiplied when applied to vulnerable entities such as pedestrians, motorcyclists, and cyclists.
Plus, the blunt, raised face of modern pickups and SUVs makes these effects worse. The Sierra 2500’s hood is 55 inches off the ground. That’s five feet seven inches. Given that the average male in America is five feet nine inches tall, the problem becomes quite apparent.
Consider a model like the one with a curb weight of more than 9,000 lbs. This is almost three times the weight of the Toyota Camry. Someone walking away won’t stand a chance.
Vehicle-centric road design
Not only have American vehicles become wilder, but the design of American roads creates an unsafe environment to begin with. The non-profit group is particularly hard on what they call “Stroads”; The combination of streets and avenues is considered one of the most dangerous road designs.
A “highway” is all major highways with the added hazards of traffic lights, cross streets, pedestrians, and cyclists. Parked cars and off-street parking don’t help matters, and in this scenario ST finds a high risk of fatal accidents.
Flaring factors leads to a busy road where visibility is limited and the difference in speeds is between traffic and well, Everything else, massive. Anyone who has attempted to cross one of these American roads on foot can attest that the “unsafe” does not satiate the terror involved.
We’ve all been in a scenario where a car is simply trying to get into traffic, and inadvertently puts its nose in front of a moving vehicle to see what’s around the parked cars. Even worse, that person also blocks the dock, causing more problems.
Now imagine you’re a cyclist caught between parked cars and 3,000-pound vehicles traveling at up to 50 miles per hour. One wrong move by anyone and it’s not hard to imagine the ensuing tragedy.
How can American roads become safer?
So, American roads are unsafe, but what can we do about it? By looking at our Canadian and European friends, we can find solutions to these problems.
One concept that has worked well is the addition of protected bike lanes. Here the solution is twofold. The physical barrier protects cyclists and pedestrians, and vehicles on the road are psychologically motivated to slow down because the lane is narrower.
Furthermore, improvements to public transportation infrastructure can help remove cars from the road, resulting in less congestion and more favorable conditions for those on foot or on a bicycle.
The current rise in road deaths is clearly untenable. All it takes is a look at our first world counterparts to find solutions that will keep everyone safe.
