Since the start of the pandemic, the rate of pedestrian injuries and deaths cauysed by cars has skyrocketed.  Because of lockdowns, selfish lemmings in shiny metal boxes saw roads with less traffic as an excuse to speed and race.  And that’s before addressing the massive increases in road rage incidents (which in the US are made more common by “laws” that make “open carry” even easier).

US’s Governors Highway Safety Association, 2020:

Pedestrian Deaths Soar in 2020 Despite Precipitous Drop in Driving During Pandemic

GHSA projects there were 6,721 pedestrian deaths in 2020 – a 4.8% increase from the 6,412 fatalities reported by SHSOs the year before. Factoring in a 13.2% decrease in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in 2020, the pedestrian fatality rate was 2.3 per billion VMT, a shocking and unprecedented 21% increase from 1.9 in 2019. This projection is the largest ever annual increase in the pedestrian death rate since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) was established in 1975.

US’s Governors Highway Safety Association, 2021:

Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State: 2021 Preliminary Data

A new analysis from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) projects that U.S. drivers struck and killed 3,441 pedestrians in the first six months of 2021, up 17% – or 507 additional lives lost – from the same period the year before.

And it’s not limited to the US.

When I first saw this clip, I thought it was a public service announcement made with CGI.  I didn’t believe that a car would drive that fast or that close to people, especially not on cobblestones.

Sadly, I was completely wrong.  There were only injuries, no fatalities, but that’s more due to chance than anything else.

Typical of cagers and roadragers, some in the comments on different sites are blaming the pedestrian crossing the road (“he should have looked!”) and not the drunken religious fanatic behind the wheel (confirmed in the news that he was drunk, and translations say he’s babbling about “god” and “satan”).

From the Helsinki Times:

Three injured as man drives car into crowd in Helsinki

A 33-YEAR-OLD MAN is suspected of causing a serious traffic hazard, driving while seriously intoxicated, negligent bodily injury, resistance to a public official and contumacy to the police over an incident that left three people injured and several cars damaged in downtown Helsinki on Saturday.

The events began at around 7pm as the man failed to comply with a police stop signal on Pohjoisranta, according to Helsinki Police Department.

The motorist instead continued south toward Pohjoisesplanadi, which was crowded with people celebrating Vappu. Police opted not to chase him. He caused damage to several cars before driving into another car close to the west end of the road, inflicting injuries to three people including himself.

All the injured were taken to hospital for treatment, but the injured victims have since been discharged from hospital.

[. . .]

Helsingin Sanomat on Sunday wrote that eyewitnesses said the man was driving a Mercedes Benz, which ultimately came to a stop in front of Café Esplanad. Information obtained by the newspaper indicates that the car is owned by a man who works in the central government and ran unsuccessfully in the county elections organised in January.

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A pedestrian fatality here this week exemplifies the ludricrous attitude many have about “cars’ rights”, blaming the pedestrian for crossing the road.  Not for “crossing illegally”, but for crossing the road on foot.  They’re blaming the victim, because he was walking, and excusing those who were speeding and hit him.

I know that intersection well.  The bridge roadway angles down about 150 metres before reaching Xining Road.  The crosswalk is not visible, but the traffic lights are.  Those on the bridge saw green lights, so they kept speeding.  A truck ran over the already injured man.

Taipei man dies after being struck by 4 cars in a row

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taipei man died early Sunday morning (May 2) after he was struck by four cars while trying to cross a street in Wanhua District.

At 3 a.m. on Sunday, a 41-year-old man surnamed Chuang (莊) attempted to cross Zhongxiao West Road at the intersection with Xining Road via a crosswalk, but the light turned red before he had made it halfway across. Chuang tried to run to the other side but was suddenly struck by a taxi driven by a 57-year-old man surnamed Ting (丁) who was heading east after having just traversed Zhongxiao Bridge.

Many drivers here will race through yellow lights or even red lights, trying to be the last to make it even after the other direction has a green light. But if you’re a pedestrian and you dare to try and cross the street with less than ten seconds left, some drivers will start lurching forward in a threatening way or honk, expecting you to hurry.  And if pedestrians are still on the crosswalk when it turns green for the other direction, drivers see it as a right to hit you.