Dangerous by Design is a national report on the epidemic of pedestrian fatalities and what we can do to prevent these deaths.
Dangerous by Design 2014 crunches the numbers on 10 years of pedestrian fatality data, looking at where these fatalities happen and who’s most at risk. In the decade 2003–2012, more than 47,000 people died while walking on our streets — 16 times the number of Americans who died in natural disasters over the same decade. Another 676,000 people were injured. Moreover, some of the most vulnerable populations — children, older Americans — suffer disproportionately. The majority of pedestrian deaths happen on arterial roads.
Think Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road and two-thirds on roads designed to federal specifications and supported by federal money.
Too many of these roads are built with only one objective in mind: moving cars as quickly as possible, regardless of being interstates or main streets.
On the local level our town averages two crumpled bodies per month. That’s about 240 pedestrian crashes in the last 10 years. Street design is the most important factor in preventing these tragedies. Good street design does not include white paint and flashing lights. The first thing that needs to happen is a paradigm shift in how we value residents and visitors on foot. cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/pedestrian_safety/factsheet.html
Michael Hoag, Laguna Beach