‘They’re not coming home’: Cities across the US are failing to reduce traffic deaths

LOS ANGELES – Chris Edwards waited at home with friends for his wife, Erika “Tilly” Edwards, to go out to dinner, but she never returned to the home they had bought just four days earlier. At approximately 9 p.m. on June 29, Tilly was killed by a hit-and-run driver as she walked to her car after a fundraising performance in Hollywood.

“I just have to figure out how to keep living,” Edwards said of his wife’s death. “The hard part about that is not knowing why.”

Despite local, state, and federal safety campaigns, such as the global one Zero visibility Initiative to eliminate traffic fatalities, these deaths are 20% higher in the United States than they were a decade ago, from 32,744 in 2014 to an estimated 39,345 in 2024According to data from the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Although traffic deaths have declined since peaking at 43,230 in 2021, the number of deaths is still higher than it was a decade ago.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pew Research Center has found that Americans’ driving habits have worsened across multiple measures, including… Reckless driving to drunk drivingwhich road safety advocates call a public health failure. They say the technology could significantly reduce traffic deaths, but the proposals often face industry resistance, and the Trump administration is focusing on self-driving cars to innovate and improve public safety.

“Every day, 20 people go out for a ride and don’t go home,” said Adam Snyder, spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state road safety offices.

American roads are becoming more dangerous than violent crime in some cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston are among the major cities that now record more traffic deaths than homicides. In 2024, the Los Angeles Police Department reported an estimated 268 homicides and 302 traffic deaths. The second year in a row The number of people killed in crashes has outnumbered the number of homicide victims, according to Crosstown LA, a nonprofit community news outlet.

San Francisco reported More than 40 traffic deaths and 35 murders In 2024. In Houston approx 345 people He died in accidents and 322 of murder.

“Simply put, the United States is in the middle of a road safety emergency,” David Harkey, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing. This summer. Of 29 high-income countries, America ranks last in road safety, Harkey said. “This rise is not — I repeat, not — a global trend. The United States is an anomaly.”

In January 2017, Then-Mayor Eric Garcetti Join 13 other Los Angeles city leaders in pledging to implement Vision Zero action plan Eliminate traffic deaths in the city by 2025.

Instead, deaths increased.

Audit The report released in April and commissioned by the city’s chief administrative officer found that the level of enthusiasm for the program at City Hall had waned and that it had suffered due to “the pandemic, personality conflicts, lack of full buy-in for implementation, disagreements over how to administer the program, and issues with expansion.” The report also noted competing interests between city departments and inconsistent investment in the city’s most dangerous traffic corridors.

Mayor Karen Bass’ office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Last year, Scott Wiener, a California senator, proposed it invoice That would have required new cars sold in the state to include Intelligent Speed ​​Assist, a program that can prevent vehicles from exceeding the speed limit by more than 10 mph. But the bill was Diluted After opposition from the auto industry and opposition from some lawmakers who described it as government overreach. It was It was eventually rejected Written by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said a state mandate would disrupt ongoing federal safety assessments.

Meanwhile, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an influential auto lobby, this year File a lawsuit against the federal government Regarding the automatic emergency braking rule adopted during the Biden administration. The lawsuit is pending in federal court while the Department of Transportation completes its review. Even before Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term, the alliance was appealing to the president-elect In a message To support consumer choice.

Under Trump, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is prioritizing the development of autonomous vehicles by proposing sweeping regulatory changes to test and deploy self-driving cars. “Federal motor vehicle safety standards were written for vehicles driven by human drivers, and need to be updated for autonomous vehicles,” Peter Simchauser, a senior adviser at NHTSA, said in September when announcing the move. Modernization effortsWhich includes canceling some safety rules. “Removing these requirements will reduce costs and enhance safety.”

However, some Democratic lawmakers criticized the administration’s repeal of the safety rules as misguided because the new rules could be implemented without rolling back existing safeguards. NHTSA officials did not respond to requests for comment about Democrats’ concerns.

Proponents fear that without continued adoption of road safety regulations for conventional vehicles, factors such as excessive speed and human error will continue to cause deaths despite the push toward self-driving cars.

“We need to continue strong cooperation from the federal, state and local sectors, the public sector, the private sector and the ordinary public,” said Snyder, of the Governors Highway Safety Association. “We need daily drivers to participate.”

It took nearly a month for police to track down the driver of the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon allegedly involved in Tilley’s death. Authorities charged Davontae Robbins with manslaughter with gross negligence, felony hit-and-run driving, and driving with a suspended license due to a previous DUI. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and was granted bail.

Chris Edwards now takes care of the couple’s backyard himself. Since his wife’s death, he has suffered from sleep deprivation, fatigue, and difficulty eating, and relies on a cane to walk. His doctors attribute his illnesses to the brain’s response to grief.

“I’m not alone,” he said. “But I’m alone in this big empty house without my partner.”

Edwards hopes to get justice for his wife, though he said he’s not sure if prosecutors will get a conviction. He wants its death to mean something: safer streets, slower driving, and for pedestrians to be careful when entering and exiting parked cars on busy streets.

“I want my wife’s death to be a warning to others who feel too comfortable to let their guard down even for a moment,” he said. “That moment is all it takes.”