Utah
Safety summit remembers 45 killed in Utah auto-pedestrian crashes last year
Estimated learn time: 3-4 minutes
PROVO — Pedestrian fatalities in Utah, and throughout the nation, are on tempo to set the flawed type of data this 12 months. The variety of pedestrians hit and killed by autos has been on the rise in recent times.
A pedestrian summit in Provo on Wednesday targeted on options which are already making a distinction right here and overseas. A nationwide authority on pedestrian security says slowing down autos is one strategy to flip that pattern round.
“We have to consider cities otherwise. Strolling must be the simplest factor to do, not essentially the most tough and difficult,” stated Dan Burden, who’s the director of Blue Zones, which advocates for longer, more healthy and happier lives.
Burden was the keynote speaker at right this moment’s summit. He stated site visitors design within the U.S. sometimes favors the velocity of the automotive over the protection of the pedestrian. And, that is not good for the protection of the pedestrian.
“Make them the No. 1 precedence,” Burden stated. “Construct place. However construct the cities for folks. Permit the automotive to be serviced, however not dominate.”
With 39 pedestrian deaths already this 12 months, Utah is on tempo to surpass the report of 47 fatalities set in 2013. Nationally, pedestrian fatalities are projected to achieve their highest degree in 40 years, in keeping with the Governors Freeway Security Affiliation. Final 12 months, a median of 20 pedestrians died day-after-day on American streets.
Final 12 months, 45 pedestrians had been hit and killed on Utah roads. On the pedestrian summit there was a memorial of their honor comprised of 45 pairs of sneakers and boots. Every of these pairs of footwear within the memorial represented a type of lives misplaced.
“We have to decelerate the common velocity in a metropolis. Cities aren’t meant to be quick. They need to be environment friendly, and they need to honor all modes, all methods folks wish to get round,” Burden stated. “If we’ll honor the pedestrians and the bicyclists, the speeds have to return down.”
Earlier this summer season, Salt Lake Metropolis dropped the velocity restrict in its neighborhoods from 25 mph to twenty. Burden stated that is begin.
“There are numerous cities in Europe the place you can not drive greater than 30 mph. You simply cannot. The streets aren’t designed for that, and the inhabitants wouldn’t settle for that.”
Heidi Goedhart works on pedestrian and bike owner options for Utah Division of Transportation.
“By reducing the speeds you may give drivers better time to anticipate when somebody goes to be coming into the roadway in the event that they’re strolling or biking,” she stated.
It additionally reduces the pressure of impression, and offers the pedestrians a better likelihood of survival if they’re hit.
“Pedestrians and the people who stroll are amongst our most susceptible roadway customers,” Goedhart stated. “Should you’re in a automotive, you’ve gotten airbags, you’ve gotten a metal body defending you out of your surroundings. And should you’re an individual that is strolling, you simply have your physique.”
Roadway design will help enhance pedestrian security. That is why we’re seeing revolutionary, and extra boldly marked pedestrian crossings in recent times.
“All customers of the transportation system must be considered in each single mission,” she stated.
State of mind additionally issues, authorities say. Whether or not we’re behind the wheel, or on foot, we have to put down the distractions and concentrate on what is going on on round us to keep away from lethal collisions.