Pedestrian Deaths in Road Accidents Hit 25-Year High: Experts believe smartphones or legalized pot could be factors.
Pedestrian Deaths in Road Accidents Hit 25-Year High: Experts believe smartphones or legalized pot could be factors.
Nearly 6,000 pedestrians were killed in the U.S. in 2017, according to a new study, and some experts have linked the accidents to distractions such as smartphones and marijuana. Richard Retting, the director of safety for Sam Schwartz Consulting and author of the report, said: “People outside cars are dying at levels we haven’t seen in 25 years.” It’s not certain why so many more people are dying outside cars than a few years ago, but the report noted that, in the seven states that legalized pot for recreational purposes, as well as the District of Columbia, pedestrian deaths spiked 16.4 percent in the first half of 2017, while deaths fell elsewhere. “We’re not making a definitive link here and saying this is an ‘aha’ moment, but it’s a source of concern and we think greater attention needs to be paid to this issue,” Retting said. Rebecca Lindland, a Kelley Blue Book auto analyst, said pedestrians distracted by smartphones could be to blame. “At some point in time people both behind the wheel and walking in the street have to take responsibility for their behavior and put down the phone,” she said.
Tags
Who is online
67 visitors
in the seven states that legalized pot for recreational purposes, as well as the District of Columbia, pedestrian deaths spiked 16.4 percent in the first half of 2017, while deaths fell elsewhere.
I would call it natural selection. If you can't manage to not get hit by a car because of a smartphone or being high, then the herd has been successfully thinned.
I think they are saying the drivers of the cars are high on pot or on the phone when they hit and kill a pedestrian, but I suppose it could be a combination of the two.
You can't rule out stupidity on the person that was hit.
Oh man, watch the pedestrians these days. Often times they have their face buried in their phone while they are walking.
How fast were you going when you smashed into the other car?
I love double barreled questions. I think combining two different causes for accidents to reach a conclusion is false logic. Anyone who has driven a car while stoned KNOWS that that's a false allegation. I've WITNESSED accidents where the driver was on their cell phone and I would venture to say that accidents caused by that would FAR outnumber accidents while stoned.
I've noticed an increase in pedestrians being hit in my area. I also notices that they are hit in poorly lit areas while they are walking down the road at night wearing dark colors. Many cross the roads without looking and at the most screwed up times. They don't wait for a break in the traffic, dart right the fuck out there.
Some people are really stupid. I flat out won't walk along the road by my house (night or day) because there isn't shit for lighting and the speed limit is 45. Even better, cops rarely ever set speed traps on it, I have only seen one over the past year and a half, so while the limit is 45 everyone is really doing 60 or so.
I KNOW it is cell phones, saw it the other day. Some dumb kid was walking and staring at their phone and stepped right out in front of me completely oblivious to where they were. Fortunately it was in a parking lot so I could stop, but it highlighted a really bad habit.
Additionally, what do you want to bet the driver was staring at their phone in many of these incidents as well?