Contact: Shane Austin
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202.425.2776
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement of Cathy Chase, President, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates), on Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Lighted Crosswalk Research
Washington, DC, July 30, 2024 | Today, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) released new research finding lighted crosswalks paired with rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFB) are effective in increasing the likelihood that drivers yield to pedestrians. Advocates commends IIHS for their continuing work to verify solutions to protect road users. Considering that 7,522 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in 2022, which is the highest number since 1981, and that 78 percent occurred in the dark, their protection must be enhanced.
Adaptive driving beam (ADB) headlamps are another technology that can help safeguard pedestrians. While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) finalized a rule in 2022 allowing auto manufacturers to install ADB headlamps, they did not require them to be standard equipment or meet a minimum federal safety standard, despite a mandate directing them to do so in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, Pub. L. 117-58) enacted in 2021. Proven solutions, such as ADB, should be standard equipment in new vehicles to address these preventable deaths.
Other vehicle-based safety technologies like automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems also reduce the risk of a crash. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recently finalized a rule that mandates AEB with pedestrian detection in both light and dark lighting conditions on new passenger vehicles by 2029. An effort to reconsider the rule should be rejected by DOT. A similar rule for heavy trucks is overdue and should be implemented without delay.
Motor vehicle crashes are a public health crisis on our roadways, killing over 40,000 and injuring nearly 2.4 million people in 2022. Solutions to address it are outlined in our 2024 Roadmap to Safety report and they need to be activated. Our streets must be safe for everyone, every time of day.
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Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety is an alliance of consumer, medical, public health, law enforcement and safety groups and insurance companies and agents working together to make America’s roads safer. Advocates’ mission is the adoption of federal and state laws, policies and programs that prevent motor vehicle crashes, save lives, reduce injuries, and contain costs. Advocates is based in Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.saferoads.org