Pedestrian Deaths – America Built a Dangerous Street Crossing System and Then Blamed Pedestrians For It.

A pedestrian is killed by a vehicle every 72 minutes in the United States, highlighting urgent safety concerns.

Charles Marohn, founder of Strong Towns, critiques a pedestrian safety PSA from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, for shifting responsibility onto individuals rather than addressing systemic transportation design failures. This critique signals a broader structural issue in how public safety messaging frames pedestrian deaths.

The PSA employs a light tone to offer safety tips but overlooks how transportation systems prioritize vehicle speed and throughput over pedestrian protection. Strong Towns’ Crash Analysis Studios, involving local residents, engineers, and officials, have examined 24 crash sessions to produce the Beyond Blame report, which emphasizes systemic factors behind pedestrian fatalities. Marohn argues that the root problem lies in the system itself, not individual behavior. Communities are encouraged to initiate their own Crash Analysis Studios to foster understanding beyond individual blame.

While no specific timeline for systemic reforms is provided, this approach invites a shift in focus for public safety strategies.

There are too few marked pedestrian crossings in Montana’s large communities with transportation departments saying putting them in would further endanger pedestrians.  Just doesn’t make sense.

We Built a Dangerous System. Then We Made a PSA About It. | Strong Towns