In 2022, almost 1,500 Virginia pedestrians were involved in motor vehicle crashes. 171 of those people died. Both are increases over the previous year, according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.
Nationally that same year, roughly 90-percent of pedestrian fatalities happened in single vehicle crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“A lot of the deaths we see with pedestrians in the U.S. are a result of head impacts,” notes transportation policy expert David Zipper.
Zipper says many of those fatalities were caused by large trucks and SUVs. That’s also why this month, the NHTSA proposed a new safety standard that would require automakers to design vehicles with lower front ends.
“This is really the first time that automakers are being told that they will need to take into account pedestrian safety in the physical design of their vehicles. This has never actually happened before in America. It's happened in Europe for decades.”
The safety administration will be accepting public comment on the proposed rule until November.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.