Toyota RAV4

• Since 2010, pedestrian deaths nationwide have climbed a shocking 77%, compared with a 25% increase in all other types of traffic fatalities.
• Light trucks injure pedestrians more severely than passenger cars in crashes, and the size of cars and trucks sold in the U.S. continues to swell.
• The U.S. has not moved as quickly as other countries to prioritize the safety of people outside of cars, especially as cars have grown larger and heavier.
• As a consequence, Americans are paying the price in lives lost, skyrocketing public health costs and reduced mobility.

Larger, heavier and deadlier

• The Department of Transportation’s corporate average fuel economy standards have constrained overall gasoline consumption but have also led to an increase in vehicle size.
• That’s because these standards have two sets of rules: one for cars and a looser set for light trucks.
• According to 2022 data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, three-quarters of new vehicles produced in the U.S. are light trucks.
• Those large vehicles create severe safety hazards on neighborhood city streets for children or adults who might be walking or cycling.

A slow federal response

• For example, bumpers and hoods could be redesigned to bend more easily and absorb more energy if a vehicle strikes a person.
• But as currently proposed, pedestrian safety would not be factored into the overall five-star safety rating.
• A vehicle could receive a failing grade for protecting pedestrians yet still earn a five-star safety rating overall.

A time for local action

• Starting in the 1970s, grassroots movements in both cities pressed officials to reduce the dominance of cars and make streets safer for the public.
• These movements initially were slow to catch on but gained support over time.
• I’ve also learned that it will require public action to create support for such changes in the U.S.

What communities can do

• Therefore, local officials and citizens have important roles to play in mitigating escalating car size in their community.
• In my view, communities seeking to discourage the predominance of oversize vehicles and encourage use of smaller, lighter and slower vehicles could consider taking such steps as:
• Ask communities around Boston, which have cut several accident-prone four-lane roads down to two lanes each, reducing traffic speeds and crashes and creating more green space.
• There is ample evidence that doing so will make U.S. communities safer.