The number of pedestrian deaths in the United States is skyrocketing.
In 2022 traffic crashes killed 7,805 people on foot
—that’s an 83 percent rise from 2009, and a 40-year high.
The vast majority of those deaths involved a car colliding into a human.
✅ In September, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration took a significant step toward addressing the crisis of killer cars,
proposing a new federal rule that would #require—not ask—carmakers to ensure that the front ends of their vehicles do not create excessive risk of pedestrian head injuries.
Should the proposal become law, hulking SUVs and pickups would face particular challenges passing NHTSA’s mandatory tests -- ❇️Some cars would have to get a little bit smaller.
This wouldn’t solve car bloat;
the head is just one part of the body that can become damaged by a vehicle.
But is a watershed moment for the NHTSA,
⭐️the first time the agency has demanded that automakers adjust the physical shape of their vehicles to mitigate danger to those on foot.
👉Currently, the NHTSA is soliciting comment, with the general public and automakers able to weigh in and help determine whether the rule ultimately goes on the books or gets watered down. 👈
The country stands at an important juncture, where it could finally start fixing the deadly problem of large cars—or allow them to continue their expansion.
DP0
in reply to Chuck Darwin • • •"the average new American car now weighs around 30 percent more than it did 40 years ago" ... I fear that one reason for that might be that the average American now also weighs 30 % more than they did 40 years ago, which - in turn - might again be due to the average American meal has also increased by a similar amount.
The problem is, of course, not limited to U.S. but definitely more prominent there.