Remember how your mother always told you to be careful crossing the street? That advice is more relevant than ever right now.

While the overall number of traffic fatalities is starting to inch back down following an increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of pedestrian deaths in the United States has seen an alarming increase in recent years. Fatalities went up by an eye-opening 77% between 2010 and 2023, and, last year, the United States had the most pedestrian fatalities since 1981. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, about 7,500 pedestrians were killed in 2022, which works out to about 20 per day. Pennsylvania had 1.43 deaths per 100,000 people.

There was a reported rash of reckless driving that started in the pandemic. Some drivers reportedly took advantage of less-traveled streets to fulfill whatever hot-rodding daydreams they had been fostering and put the pedal to the metal. The extreme stresses also brought about by the pandemic apparently led some drivers to step on it to let off steam, and smartphones have also been an irresistible distraction for many.

Perhaps another factor has been the growing number of SUVs and pickup trucks that have been sold in recent years. In 2022, 57% of all vehicles sold in the United States were SUVs; 40 years ago, SUVs accounted for 3% of sales. If you are hit by an SUV or pickup truck, the sheer force of it, plus the fact that it’ll hit you in the torso rather than the legs, is most likely to cause a fatal injury.

The escalating number of pedestrian deaths has reached crisis levels, according to Pam Shadel Fischer, senior director of external engagement at the Governors Highway Safety Association. She told NBC News, “It has been getting worse every year. We’ve focused so much on making vehicles safer for the people inside, but we’ve sort of lost track of what we are doing for the folks outside vehicles to really address their safety.”

Walkable communities are usually considered to be more attractive and livable. In order to make our communities friendly to walkers, we need to make sure pedestrians feel safe doing something as simple as crossing the street.

— Williamsport Sun-Gazette