05/05/2026
There are many ways you could measure the health of a city — its air quality index, its population growth, the number of jobs it added last year. But another one not often high on the priority lists of city governments in the US: How safe is it to walk?
The US has the grievous distinction among peer countries as being one of the most dangerous places in the developed world for walking down the street. American pedestrians are killed by cars at three times the rate of Canadians, four times the rate of Brits and Australians, and more than 13 times the rate of Norwegians.
While we finally got a bit of good news about pedestrian safety in America — About 11% fewer pedestrians were killed in the first half of 2025, according to a preliminary report published by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) — the question still remains: Why did it suddenly become so much more dangerous to be a pedestrian in America?
There’s almost certainly no single reason, but most experts Vox’s Marina Bolotnikova spoke to over the years have pointed to the growing popularity of SUVs and pickup trucks, which now make up an overwhelming share of car purchases in the US. These vehicles often make it harder for drivers to see pedestrians, and they’re more likely to seriously injure or kill people on foot because of their added weight and height.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, University of New Mexico engineering professor Nick Ferenchak, one of the country’s leading researchers on pedestrian and bicyclist safety, pointed to another, intriguing theory: Maybe there are just more pedestrians now. Not because Americans have suddenly discovered a love of long walks, but because an increasing number of people living outside pedestrian-friendly city centers can’t afford to get around any other way.
Find out more reasons: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/486864/pedestrian-deaths-decrease-walking-car-safety?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dhfacebook&utm_content=app.dashsocial.com%2Fvoxdotcom%2Flibrary%2Fmedia%2F667246781