The rising number of pedestrian fatalities in the United States has drawn renewed attention to broader issues within the nation’s transportation system, experts say. While the increase in larger vehicles on the road has been cited as a contributing factor to the surge in pedestrian deaths, transportation safety advocates argue the problem is more complex and rooted in systemic design choices that prioritize speed and convenience over safety.

Lorraine Martin, chief executive of the National Safety Council, highlighted the need for a comprehensive approach to road safety. “Every day, more than 100 people lose their lives to preventable crashes in this country,” Martin noted, emphasizing that society has become too complacent about this toll. She called for adopting the Safe System Approach, a framework that acknowledges human error is inevitable and aims to design a transportation ecosystem that prevents such errors from resulting in fatalities or serious injuries.

The Safe System Approach integrates multiple safety measures across the entire transportation network. These include safer road designs, improved vehicle technologies, appropriate speed limits, effective enforcement of traffic laws, and fostering safer behaviors such as seat belt use, sober driving, and minimizing distractions. This layered strategy is intended to protect all road users, whether inside vehicles or on foot.

Martin stressed that building a safer transportation system requires coordinated leadership among government entities, industry stakeholders, and local communities. She also underscored the importance of a cultural shift in how society views transportation safety. “The best trip is the one in which everyone arrives at the destination alive and unharmed,” she said. Placing that principle at the forefront of transportation planning and personal driving decisions, Martin argued, would lead to significant reductions in unnecessary deaths on American roads.

While the growth of larger vehicles remains an important issue, advocates maintain that addressing it in isolation will not resolve the deeper safety challenges embedded within the current transportation infrastructure and policies. Moving toward a Safe System framework, they assert, is crucial to reversing the trend of rising fatalities and enhancing safety for all road users.