Look at the chart below, and note when the declining trend of pedestrian deaths halts and begins rising again. What might you guess happened around 2008 to reverse this trend? Maybe the arrival of smart phones, and the bad habits of rising numbers of pedestrians glued to their phones when they should be looking both ways?
Well, if you’re Axios, you blame. . . SUVs. (See below.)
Axios in action:
The report attributes some of the increase to the rising popularity of trucks and SUVs. Those bigger, heavier vehicles account for a growing share of traffic deaths. There are more of them on the road overall, and you’re also less likely to survive getting hit by a truck than getting hit by a smaller car.
