"This is a crisis."

Recently, the USDOT released new data showing that road fatalities spiked in the first half of 2021, which shows the largest six-month increase ever recorded in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System’s history.

Whether you are an advocate of mobility justice or active transit, recreational cyclists, athlete, or commuter, this should matter to you.

The report did not reveal how many vulnerable road users like pedestrians or cyclists were killed in that surge, but advocates fear it may have been one of the deadliest years ever for people outside motor vehicles. The research concluded that the surge was largely due to cars speeding, which spiked during quarantine.

The new data is saddening, but not surprising, as advocates for mobility justice and sustainable transportation have been calling for urgent reforms from previous data from 2018, 2019, and 2020, revealing a trend of rising pedestrian and cyclist deaths. 

Outside Mag did a whole years study on this trend with some key takeaways: https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/biking/what-we-learned-tracking-cycling-deaths-year/

With the ever increase of private car ownership, more EV infrastructure, and the expansion of the infrastructure bill to build more roads and highways, one has to question if the the DOT's first-ever National Roadway Safety Strategy will be able to meet it's goals. 

Such trends should worry us.