Early projections by the Governors Highway Safety Association say that the total number of pedestrian deaths in 2020 were up 4.8 percent, and that was despite a pandemic-influenced 16.5 percent drop in vehicle miles traveled – one of the deadliest years on record for pedestrians.
The New York State Senate has introduced a bill, SB 4307, that would require a pedestrian-safety rating for every vehicle, scoring them on a 1 to 5 scale similar to the ratings NHTSA already applies to vehicles. The difference is that this would rate vehicles based on the damage done in collisions with cyclists and pedestrians.
The bill’s author, Sen. Andrew Gounardes, who represents Brooklyn, said SUVs and trucks are exactly the reason he’s advocating for a new rating system that would be implemented by the New York Department of Motor Vehicles.
Read the article at Car and Driver.
