Pedestrian fatalities just reached a 40-year high

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     June 22, 2023 If you know me, you know how much I hate cars—even though I drive one! I know that cars are essential transportation tools for many people in this car-centric country, but I strongly believe that cities would benefit from investing in public transportation, making streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians, and eliminating as many car trips as possible. So I was disappointed to read today that pedestrian safety is headed firmly in the wrong direction. A new [report by the Governors Highway Safety Association]( found that drivers hit and killed more pedestrians last year than any year since 1981. It also found that pedestrian fatalities are up 77 percent since 2010, and up 1 percent in 2022 from the year before. You can download the report, with a state-by-state breakdown, [here](. There are a lot of speculated reasons for the increase in traffic deaths, but the consensus among safe streets experts is that our streets are "[dangerous by design,](" and that redesigning them with walkers, cyclists, and wheelchair users in mind is the best approach to reducing traffic fatalities. But an [investigation out in]([ProPublica]( today shows how difficult it can be for the US Department of Transportation to institute even the most basic, commonsense safety measures. In 2017, US DOT researchers suggested that trucks be fitted with side guards to prevent pedestrians and cyclists from falling beneath the vehicles during collisions. But the American Trucking Association successfully lobbied against any such regulation. As I [wrote yesterday](, traffic safety has, like many issues, become unnecessarily partisan, with Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee hoping to eliminate automated traffic enforcement in Washington, DC, and trying to block the city from banning right turns at red lights. There are a lot of issues in modern life about which I feel helpless—climate change, [the end of Roe](—but this one feels decidedly fixable. We [changed the landscape]( of American streets in 2020, and I'm confident we can do it again. —Abigail Weinberg Advertisement [Rainforest Action Network]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [The Hell of Providing Health Care in a Post-Dobbs America]( A year after the right to abortion was gutted, doctors and patients are still terrified. BY ARIEL RAMCHANDANI SPONSORED CONTENT BY RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK   Meet the Organization That’s Fighting Against Deforestation and Climate Change This World Rainforest Day, Mother Jones is teaming up with Rainforest Action Network to shine a light on how corporate power and greed threaten biodiversity, animal habitats, and the health of our planet and communities. [Join us](–because it’s going to take our collective action to protect what’s sacred. [Trending] [Atlanta residents could soon vote on Cop City]( BY EAMON WHALEN   [Sen. Patty Murray on the end of Roe and her long fight for women's health care]( BY KATIE HERCHENROEDER   [A groundbreaking youth-led climate trial in Montana is coming to an end]( BY DHARNA NOOR   [Cheaper housing or more homelessness? Your call, California.]( BY JULIA MÉTRAUX Advertisement [Rainforest Action Network]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [What Abortion Funds Saw After Dobbs]( Helping people get abortions now requires way more logistics—and cash. BY ABBY VESOULIS [We need your help right now] There's no sugarcoating it: We face a real budget crunch and need to raise $390,000 in online donations by June 30 to finish our fiscal year break-even. We've already cut everything we can, and there is zero wiggle room to come up short. So we're hoping that [donations from our regular newsletter readers](, from you reading this blurb right now, will come in much stronger than normal to help us get there. Please pitch in if you can right now. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755