In the past month, there have been 10 pedestrian traffic fatalities in the Phoenix metro area, and two more people were left in critical condition during that period.
The deaths continued a deadly state trend noted in a national report released on March 1, when the Governors Highway Safety Association reported Arizona had the highest rate of pedestrian fatalities in the nation.
Three people died, and one person was critically injured when an SUV hopped a curb and struck four pedestrians in March, according to a Maricopa County Sheriff's Office spokesman.
That accident came a day after two pedestrians were struck and killed by cars in separate accidents in Scottsdale and Tempe.
On March 9, three pedestrians were killed in separate collisions, two early that day and one that evening in Phoenix.
On March 5 and 6, two pedestrians were killed and one critically injured in three separate incidents in Phoenix.
“This is horrible. This is a major crisis that we have here in Arizona," said Alberto Gutier, director of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety in Arizona. "I am horrified because I've seen for the last two years the increase of pedestrian fatalities going up," Gutier said. "The state is doing the best they can. Cities have marked crosswalks; they have signs that say, 'Don't cross here' and they still do it."
He added: "People think that they're invincible and they cross."
Comment: I do not believe for one moment that people ‘think they are invincible’. That is not why these things happen.
Inattention? Distraction? Feeling in a zone of safety (crosswalk) and assuming the driver will obey rules of the road (stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk?).
For those killed or injured when the car jumps the curb, you cannot argue that the injured people felt ‘felt invincible.’
For pedestrians on the road, likely one of the above reasons is the cause or contributing factor—not because they “felt invincible.”
Should pedestrians be more careful when crossing a roadway? Yes. Regardless as to whether they have the right of way, a crosswalk is not a “forcefield.”
Remember, car v. Pedestrian: The pedestrian ALWAYS loses.
Source: AZCentral