Traffic fatality data for the first nine months of 2022 are in and there is some good news to be seen. Fewer estimated fatalities are projected but unfortunately this trend did not hold true for both pedestrians and cyclists.
Overall it appears that pedestrians saw a 2% increase in deaths as compared 2021. Motorcycle deaths increased 5% and bicyclists saw an 8% increase.
The inevitable question is why would fatalities increase for certain classes of victims against a backdrop of otherwise lower death rates?
NHTSA hasn't yet teased out the answers but one suspects it is a by-product of more aggressive driving which originated during the covid epidemic and continues despite the return to more normal volumes of vehicles. When nobody was on the roadways it became the norm to drive faster and it seems this hasn't abated.
