On Sun, 2 Apr 2017 16:29:16 -0700 (PDT), Sir Ridesalot
wrote:

On Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 7:22:41 PM UTC-4, Frank Krygowski wrote:
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

Not that you care or would ever consider, BUT the roads out there are getting more dangerous for everyone as more and more people are very distracted with electronic gadgets these days. The roads weren't nealy as bad thirty years ago. You really do need to keep a look out for those distracted persons whetjer they be a bicyclist, driver or pedestrians.

Cheers

I recently came across some statistics which showed that in 1990 (27
years ago) there were 167 million licensed drivers and in 2014 there
were 214 million, An increase of about 2 million drivers a year. And
given that (I believe) the average Usian family now owns 1.9 cars per
family there are obviously far more cars per mile of roads than there
were 30 years ago.

It may be a bit whimsical but based on an average automobile length of
190 inches it will require the building of some 6,000 miles of new
roads annually to maintain the current traffic density On second
thought we need to add say 3 feet between the cars so the distance
becomes 190+36 which is 7,133 miles per year of new road, just to stay
even :-)

--
Cheers,

John B.