In 2013, a 48-year-old man was struck and killed in Utah by a truck during his attempt to walk across America. He was married and had children.
As I ran across America solo in 2006 (primarily on secondary highways), there were seven instances when I had to jump into a ditch to avoid being hit by an inattentive driver. Had I not been paying attention and been more alert than the driver, I could have easily been killed since all of the instances occurred on roadways where the speed limit was 45mph or greater. After each close call I was incredibly grateful to be alive. My four children were between the ages of 6 and 13 when I did that run. I didn't want them to lose their father. I was always facing traffic (as most local and state laws require of pedestrians), had highly visible colors during the day and lights in darker hours, and was on roadways where pedestrians are allowed.
It's a sad statistic that more than 4,500 pedestrians are killed by motor vehicles every year in America, and another 68,000 walkers on average are injured every year by vehicles. According to the World Health Organization, internationally there are more than 270,000 people killed every year while walking.
Campaigns to reduce pedestrian, bicyclist and motorist deaths to zero are now taking shape across America – from Philadelphia to Chicago to Oregon.
This new safety strategy, called Vision Zero, is modeled on successful efforts in Sweden where overall traffic deaths have been cut in half since 2000 – making Swedish streets the safest in the world, according to the New York Times. Pedestrian deaths in Sweden have also plunged 50 percent since 2009.
Reports show that Sweden accomplished all of this by emphasizing safety over speed in road design. Improved crosswalks, lowering urban speed limits, pedestrian zones, barriers separating cars from bikes and pedestrians, and narrowing streets have all contributed to the impressive drop in traffic deaths.
According to the Vision Zero Initiative, Sweden takes a far different approach than conventional transportation planning, where road users are held responsible for their own safety. Swedish policy by contrast believes that to save lives, roads must anticipate driver, bicyclist and walker errors based on the simple fact that we are human and we make mistakes. This is similar to the Netherlands’ policy of "Forgiving Roads," which has reduced traffic fatalities by 75 percent since the 1970s, compared to less than a 20 percent reduction in the United States over the same period.
Three states in America that adopted aggressive measures to cut traffic deaths similar to Vision Zero – Utah, Minnesota and Washington – all have seen traffic fatalities decline by 40 percent or more, 25 percent better than the national average.
From Him, Through Him, For Him (Romans 11:36),
Paul J. Staso
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Visit my YouTube channel -- https://www.youtube.com/user/pacetrek
Click on any of the links below to see some of my adventure photos:
- United States in 2006 (3,260 miles solo in 108 days at age 41)
- Montana in 2008 (620 miles solo in 20 days at age 43)
- Alaska in 2009 (500 miles solo in 18 days at age 44)
- Germany in 2010 (500 miles solo in 21 days at age 45)
- The Mojave Desert in 2011 (506 miles solo in 17 days at age 46)
- Various Photos From Mileposts Gone By
- Students Worldwide Who Ran With Me Virtually
- Roadside Sights From My Running Adventures
- Some Cycling Moments From The Past
