Statistics confirm that American drivers continue to massacre walkers and cyclists.

Just the facts, folks. Sorry if it hurts your car to hear them.

Exactly How Far U.S. Street Safety Has Fallen Behind Europe, in Three Bombshell Charts, by Kea Wilson (Streets Blog)

We knew it was bad, but not THIS bad.

The United States has failed to reduce pedestrian and cyclist fatalities as fast as comparably affluent European nations, a new study finds — and the authors think we must employ the same simple, effective policies that they did to catch up in the fight the bloodshed.

Researchers from Virginia Tech and Rutgers University compared the last 28 years of available transportation fatality data from the United States with data from the four countries with the most closely comparable national travel surveys and levels of affluence: Denmark, Germany, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. All four peer nations had reduced per capita pedestrian fatalities by at least 61 percent over the course of the study period — and standout Denmark did so by a whopping 69 percent — but the U.S. reduced ours by just 36 percent.

In other words, our worst peer country’s Vision Zero progress was nearly twice as fast as ours in the last three decades. And of course, U.S. pedestrian fatalities actually increased dramatically between 2010 and 2018. Only the U.K. experienced even a moderate increase over the same period — and some U.K. safety experts blame the rise on American-made SUVs.

R.I.P. Orson Bean, killed by two drivers using their cars as weapons.

First, all due respect to the late Orson Bean. He was a ubiquitous figure back in the day, a half-century ago, when I actually watched television.

Yesterday Bean was killed by a driver, maybe two of them, although Hollywood Reporter can't decide for sure.

Seriously, I can't make up these things. Small wonder that outrage over drivers killing non-drivers is lacking when we can't even speak clearly about the facts.

Orson Bean was struck by car (in the headline).

Then he was hit by a car (body of the story).

Then he was hit by a vehicle (same car; first vehicle, body of story).

Only then was he struck by a "second driver," which police say was the fatal act of homicide, and you think for a brief moment maybe the style guideline says one must attribute death to drivers and simple non-fatal maulings to cars, but then the authors write both drivers remained on the scene.

So ... which is it? Drivers, cars, vehicles? Why weren't the attacks on Bean ALL attributed to drivers, who happened to use their cars as murder weapons?

Orson Bean, 'Dr. Quinn' Actor, Dies at 91 After Being Struck by Car by Mike Barnes and Duane Byrge

He was a standout on Broadway, played Mr. Bevis on 'The Twilight Zone' and was related to Calvin Coolidge and Andrew Breitbart.

Orson Bean, the witty New Englander who starred on Broadway, was a longtime panelist on To Tell the Truth and played the dour owner of the general store on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, died Friday night after being hit by a car in Venice, authorities said. He was 91.

The Los Angeles County coroner's office confirmed Bean's death to the Associated Press, saying it was being investigated as a "traffic-related" fatality. It provided the location where Bean was found, which matched reports from local news outlets.

L.A. police told The Hollywood Reporter a pedestrian in his 90s was walking eastbound in the area of Venice Boulevard and Shell Avenue at 7:35 p.m. when he was hit by a vehicle.

A second driver then struck him in what police say was the fatal collision, and both drivers remained on the scene, L.A. Police Department Capt. Brian Wendling initially told local stations, which identified Bean based on eyewitness accounts.

The narcissism of car-centrism, part 3: "How Lazy Coverage of Pedestrian Deaths Obscures Why Streets Are So Dangerous."

Paging Bill Hanson and Susan Duncan.

Apart from lazy coverage, I'm trying to remember the last time Louisville metro police and prosecutors took longer than ten grudging minutes to absolve drivers from blame when non-vehicular human beings have been killed by drivers.

It is exceedingly rare, isn't it?

Ever wonder why it's always the car that kills and not the person piloting it?

How Lazy Coverage of Pedestrian Deaths Obscures Why Streets Are So Dangerous, by Angie Schmitt (Streetsblog)

When a driver kills someone on foot, is it an act of God, beyond anyone’s power to prevent? Or is it the result of a broken system in desperate need of reform?

To read the coverage of the May 31 killing of 80-year-old Arnulfo Salazar in Charlotte, North Carolina, you’d think it was a random, unpreventable tragedy. Or that Salazar could have saved himself if only he’d been more careful. The stories don’t convey any sense that Salazar was failed by a hostile and unforgiving system.

Let's skip to the conclusion.

One thing that’s certain, however, is that journalists should be more skeptical of police accounts of pedestrian deaths.

Far too often, police rely exclusively on the testimony of the driver — the victim can no longer tell his or her story. And when the only version of events that gets reported is a story that absolves the driver while blaming the victim, the public discussion of street design and driver behavior won’t even mention possibilities for reform. And that means more people will lose their lives.

The narcissism of car-centrism, part 2: "Why U.S. pedestrian deaths are at their highest level in almost 30 years."

It's actually possible to reduce the narcissism of car-centrism: "Unlike the U.S., the E.U. has found ways to redesign vehicles and roads to reduce pedestrian deaths."

Just not in America, evidently.

Why U.S. pedestrian deaths are at their highest level in almost 30 years (PBS)

U.S. pedestrian deaths are at their highest level since 1990. Possible explanations include wider roads, sprawling cities, heavier traffic in residential areas due to navigation apps and increasing distractions from digital devices. And according to victims’ families and safety advocates, the problem is a crisis state and local governments have been slow to address. Arren Kimbel-Sannit reports.

snip

The Hubanks apartment complex is half-a-mile away from the signal crosswalks on Central and Seventh avenues. That's a long way to walk for people who need to catch a bus to school or work.

snip

National advocacy groups say deaths like Keshawn's are more common in low-income areas. It's evident in Southern California, where residents in underserved neighborhoods are waiting for safer streets.

snip

The couple wants safer roads and safer drivers. They know changing laws and minds is a challenge. But it's not impossible. The European Union has seen a 36 percent decline in pedestrian deaths between 2007 and 2016. Experts say it's because, unlike the U.S., the E.U. has found ways to redesign vehicles and roads to reduce pedestrian deaths.