On 4/2/2017 4:45 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
Many who ride or walk the streets have been saying that they think it's getting more dangerous out there than it was when we were younger. Seems like we're not just imagining things after all.

"Roads in America are getting deadlier, especially if you’re walking"

https://qz.com/947119/pedestrians-ac...rs/?yptr=yahoo

"Texting while driving is rightfully admonished, but alarming new statistics show that pedestrians, too, need to keep their eyes on the road.

Nearly 6,000 pedestrians were killed on US roads last year, an 11% increase from 2015, according to projections released this week by the Governors Highway Safety Association (pdf). It was the highest rate of increase in at least four decades, as far back as the data go. Pedestrian deaths accounted for 15% of the total traffic fatalities in the US, the largest portion in 25 years, said the report, based on preliminary 2016 data from 50 states and Washington, DC.

US roadways are becoming more dangerous in general even as automakers have added safety features such as backup cameras to give drivers better views. Yet in 2015, the number of traffic fatalities rose 7.2%, the most in 50 years.

Snipped

But regardless of whether you consider it a tool or a vice, pedestrians who travel at slower speeds than the 3,000-pound hunks of steel with whom they share the road—and don’t generally walk around with anti-crash sensors—need to be extra careful. US cities may want to look to the Dutch, who have put traffic lights on the ground in one town, so phone zombies might see them."

You really do need to stasy alert if you ride or walk in traffic and that's because you CAN NOY DEPEND on a driver to see you. Or you might have to take emergency evasive action to avoid hitting a texting pedestrian yourself.

Thanks. I really do need to update my mental notes on pedestrian
fatalities. I keep thinking of them as being about 4300 per year in the
U.S., but it is higher lately.

Walking is _so_ much more dangerous than riding a bike.

--
- Frank Krygowski