As US Road Deaths Rise, France Is Safer Than Ever. Why? I Bloomberg UK – CityLabTransportation

David Zipper – 16 June 2022
Urban Institute researcher Yonah Freemark looks at traffic fatalities in France and the US in search of explanations for why the two countries’ road safety trends diverged. 
Traffic deaths in the US surged at an annual rate of 10.5% last year, the fastest pace on record, to an estimated 42,915 fatalities. Pedestrians are at particular risk; 2021 saw an estimated 7,265 deaths among those on foot, the highest total in 40 years.
Although leaders like DoT Sec Pete Buttigieg have repeatedly warned of a “national crisis” in roadway safety, they seldom emphasize its uniquely American nature. Roadways in Canada, the European Union, Japan and Australia have generally grown safer in recent years — both before the pandemic and during it.