Why the number of pedestrian and bicycle injuries has remained steady

In States like New Jersey where residents love their cars, officials have been trying for years to reduce the high number of pedestrian deaths. For instance, in New Jersey according to a recent New York Times articles, there were 145 cyclists and pedestrial deaths in 1998. Then Governor Christie Whitman introduced a program to reduce that number by half by 2010. However, according to the Tri-State Transportation Committee, a New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut group, that goal has never been reached and last year 162 pedestrians and cyclists died in traffic deaths.

Governor Jon Corzine has promised to continue the efforts, nonetheless, and said the state would invest in signs, signals, lights, and infrastructure changes like wider road shoulders and speed bumps. However, New Jersey Director of their Division of Traffic Safety, Pamela Fischer, said that higher gas prices this summer might have contributed to what she called an even greater uptick in the number of cyclists deaths this year alone.

Nevertheless, New Jersey ranked as ninth best in the nation for bicycle safety according to the League of American Bicylists. The State also tied fir third in the nation for cycle and pedestrian friendly planning and was eight in the nation for policies and progams and tenth for safe infrastructure.

John Boyle, advocacy director for the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia said that good state policies need to be implemented at the muncipal level which is where the walking and bicycling happens.