To the Editor:
Re “On U.S. Roads, Dark Is Deadly. That’s a Puzzle” (front page, Dec. 23):
Thorough though this article may be, it does not note that the upward trend in pedestrian deaths coincides with the introduction of LED headlights around 2006. LED bulbs, four times brighter than halogen ones, blind oncoming drivers and pedestrians alike.
David Ostwald
New York
To the Editor:
The article suggests remaking infrastructure to slow vehicles because “distracted drivers are safer at lower speeds.” The problem is not the speed nor the roads for the most part; it is the distraction!
Drivers are not supposed to be distracted. Ever. Drivers’ focus must be on driving, which is mostly about seeing. Looking at a phone is the very opposite of safe driving behavior.
Phone-distracted driving has to become as socially unacceptable as drunken driving.
Pedestrians are also distracted. Some cities give pedestrians the right of way as a matter of course, so they seem to imagine they don’t have to look at traffic when they walk into it. Again, I refer to my own training as a child about how to cross a street and ride a bike and walk near a street.
For their own safety, pedestrians should make eye contact with drivers at all times to be sure they see you entering the street. Any windows dark enough to hamper eye contact should be illegal.
Automakers have to step up. Cars must be designed not as a status signifier but for safety. Limit the height of headlights from the ground, no matter how absurdly high the rest of the vehicle is.
This entire issue is about responsibility. Our culture has inculcated a poisonous interpretation of freedom, freedom, freedom, with no countervailing responsibility, responsibility, responsibility.
Bob Huskey
Seattle
To the Editor:
Some of the blame needs to be put on the pedestrians. More and more people are walking to maintain a healthier lifestyle. But so many of them walk on the shoulder of roads in the same direction as the traffic flow, instead of against it. Couple that with the use of headphones and wearing dark clothing at night, and it is a recipe for disaster.
Bill Grant
Flanders, N.J.
To the Editor:
The article shedding light on the surge in nighttime pedestrian fatalities in the U.S. underscores a critical issue: the dangers of driving under the influence of substances like opioids, marijuana or alcohol.
To move forward, we need to take a look back at the successful, comprehensive efforts of the 1980s that educated Americans about the dangers of drinking and driving and expand those initiatives to include the risks associated with driving under the influence of marijuana and opioids.
It’s crucial to support policies that enhance road safety and reduce the incidence of substance-impaired driving. Our collective effort in this regard will save lives and contribute to our communities’ well-being.
Angelo M. Valente
Hoboken, N.J.
The writer is executive director of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey.
To the Editor:
New cars come with large, extremely bright screens that have to be used for changing radio stations, heating and many other functions and are very distracting at night. To turn down the brightness of mine, I had to dig deep into my car’s handbook. Regulators, take heed.
Moira Yip
Center Lovell, Maine
To the Editor:
While the surge in pedestrian deaths at night can partially explain the increase in U.S. vehicle deaths per capita over the past 10 years, while other high-income countries have registered declines, another force likely at work is social distrust, which has trended upward in the U.S. over the same period while declining in other established democracies.
My own research on a sample of 48 U.S. states has shown that social trust promotes traffic safety: People who believe that others can generally be trusted tend to be more courteous on the roads and coordinate more effectively with their fellow drivers.
Taking steps to build a more cohesive society in the United States won’t just increase the sense of harmony in our communities. It can save lives.
Matthew G. Nagler
Livingston, N.J.
The writer is a professor of economics at the City College of New York and the City University of New York Graduate Center.
To the Editor:
I was gratified to see smartphone use cited in this article as one culprit. It was exasperating, though, to see the usual focus on hands, rather than on attention.
Somehow, we’ve internalized the belief that phone conversations while driving are fine, as long as they’re hands-free. That is demonstrably false. (And no, chatting with a passenger is not the same; conversing with someone not present is uniquely distracting.) Until we acknowledge that hands-free does not equal safe, people will continue to be hurt and killed by distracted drivers who prioritize their convenience over others’ lives.
Mark Remy
Portland, Ore.
To the Editor:
I was surprised to see that in an article puzzling out the potential causes of an increase in pedestrian fatalities at night, almost no attention seems to have been paid to changes in streetlights.
Over the period in question, a number of communities have replaced older streetlights with newer LED streetlights. While these new lights do a decent job of illuminating the spots directly beneath them, the light doesn’t spread nearly as far as the old lights did. The result, at least in my area, are very dark streets with sporadic pools of bright LED light.
It might be worth studying whether streets, on average, have gotten darker.
James Mink
El Cerrito, Calif.
To the Editor:
There is a factor not mentioned in the article that appears to significantly contribute to nighttime pedestrian fatalities and warrants further study — the decline in traffic enforcement in the United States.
Since I became a student of traffic safety in 1995, traffic enforcement has declined dramatically. In many communities it may be nonexistent after 5 p.m. Lack of traffic enforcement combined with distracted driving has deadly consequences after dark for pedestrians.
Stuart E. Foster
Medford, Ore.