Statement from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety on the Governors Highway Safety Association report, Spotlight on Highway Safety: Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The report from GHSA is further evidence of the urgent need to assess how we can better protect pedestrians now and what strategies we should implement in the future. The problems contributing to the rising number of deaths are well known. As the report points out, major roads often lack convenient and safe crossings, fast-moving vehicles make for more frequent and deadlier crashes, and dimly lit roads compound the dangers at night.

Providing more options for pedestrians to safely cross busy roads would make a difference. Broader use of speed cameras to enforce speed limits is a proven solution. Another obvious solution is better headlights on vehicles because so many of these crashes happen at night. Longer-term strategies include building new infrastructure with the safety of all road users in mind, equipping all new vehicles with automatic emergency braking technology with pedestrian detection, and redesigning the front ends of SUVs and pickups to make them less hazardous when collisions are unavoidable.

-  Statement may be attributed to David Zuby, Chief Research Officer, IIHS

SOURCE Insurance Institute for Highway Safety