A new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) estimates that the number of walkers killed on roadways hit a 33-year high in 2017, even as all other kinds of traffic deaths decreased. Curbed Urbanism Editor Alissa Walker sits down with Alyssa Julya Smith to talk about what this means and what cities can do to help bring those numbers down.
According to GHSA’s 2017 data, five states—California, Florida, Texas, New York, and Arizona—account for 43% of all pedestrian deaths, and Arizona had the highest rate of pedestrian fatalities.
Walker explains that its speed not distraction that actually kills pedestrians. She says the idea that smartphones and marijuana has led to the increase in pedestrian deaths is unlikely the case.
Suspect Jason Billingsley was arrested in the killing of Baltimore tech entrepreneur Pava LaPere who had built a successful startup that earned her national recognition, police said.
