LOS ANGELES — Kris Edwards waited at residence with mates for his spouse, Erika “Tilly” Edwards, to exit to dinner, however she by no means made it again to the home that they had bought solely 4 days earlier. Round 9 p.m. on June 29, a hit-and-run driver killed Tilly as she walked to her automobile after a fundraiser efficiency in Hollywood.
“I’ve just got to figure out how to keep living. And the hard part with that is not knowing why,” Edwards mentioned of his spouse’s loss of life.
Regardless of native, state, and federal security campaigns, comparable to the worldwide Imaginative and prescient Zero initiative to eradicate visitors fatalities, such deaths are up 20% within the U.S. from a decade in the past, from 32,744 in 2014 to an estimated 39,345 in 2024, based on information from the Division of Transportation’s Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration. Though visitors deaths have declined since peaking at 43,230 in 2021, the variety of deaths stays larger than a decade in the past.
For the reason that covid-19 pandemic, the Pew Analysis Heart discovered, Individuals’ driving habits have worsened throughout a number of measures, from reckless driving to drunk driving, which highway security advocates name a public well being failure. They are saying expertise might dramatically cut back visitors deaths, however proposals typically run up towards trade resistance, and the Trump administration is specializing in driverless vehicles to each innovate and enhance public security.
“Every day, 20 people go out for a walk, and they don’t return home,” mentioned Adam Snider, a spokesperson for the Governors Freeway Security Affiliation, which represents state highway security workplaces.
American roads have turn into extra harmful than violent crimes in some cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston are among the many main cities that now report extra visitors fatalities than homicides. In 2024, the Los Angeles Police Division reported an estimated 268 homicides and 302 visitors deaths, the second consecutive yr that the variety of folks killed in collisions exceeded the variety of murder victims, based on Crosstown LA, a nonprofit neighborhood information outlet.
San Francisco reported greater than 40 visitors deaths and 35 homicides in 2024. In Houston, roughly 345 folks died in crashes and 322 from murder.
“Simply put, the United States is in the middle of a road safety emergency,” David Harkey, president of the Insurance coverage Institute for Freeway Security, testified throughout a Home Power and Commerce subcommittee listening to this summer season. Harkey mentioned that, out of 29 high-income nations, America ranks on the backside in highway security. “This spike is not — I repeat, is not — a global trend. The U.S. is an outlier.”
In January 2017, then-Mayor Eric Garcetti joined 13 different L.A. metropolis leaders in pledging to implement the Imaginative and prescient Zero motion plan and eradicate visitors deaths within the metropolis by 2025.
As an alternative, deaths have elevated.
An audit launched in April that was commissioned by the town’s administrative officer discovered that the extent of enthusiasm for this system at Metropolis Corridor has diminished and that it suffered due to “the pandemic, conflicts of personality, lack of total buy-in for implementation, disagreements over how the program should be administered , and scaling issues.” The report additionally cited competing pursuits amongst metropolis departments and inconsistent funding within the metropolis’s most harmful visitors corridors.
Mayor Karen Bass’ workplace didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Final yr, California state Sen. Scott Wiener proposed a invoice that may have required new vehicles offered within the state to incorporate “intelligent speed assistance,” software program that would forestall autos from exceeding the velocity restrict by greater than 10 mph. However the invoice was watered down following pushback from the auto trade and opposition from some legislators who known as it authorities overreach. It was in the end vetoed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who mentioned a state mandate would disrupt ongoing federal security assessments.
In the meantime, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an influential automotive foyer, this yr sued the federal authorities over an automated emergency braking rule adopted in the course of the Biden administration. The lawsuit is pending in federal courtroom whereas the Division of Transportation completes a assessment. Even earlier than Donald Trump was sworn in for his second time period, the alliance appealed to the president-elect in a letter to assist client alternative.
Underneath Trump, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is prioritizing the event of autonomous autos by proposing sweeping regulatory adjustments to check and deploy driverless vehicles. “Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards were written for vehicles with human drivers and need to be updated for autonomous vehicles,” NHTSA Chief Counsel Peter Simshauser mentioned in September in asserting the modernization effort, which incorporates repealing some security guidelines. “Removing these requirements will reduce costs and enhance safety.”
Some Democratic lawmakers, nonetheless, have criticized the administration’s repeal of security guidelines as misguided since new guidelines will be carried out with out undoing present safeguards. NHTSA officers didn’t reply to requests for remark about Democrats’ considerations.
Advocates fear that with out continued adoption of highway security rules for standard autos, elements comparable to extreme velocity and human error will proceed to drive fatalities regardless of the push for driverless vehicles.
“We need to continue to have strong collaboration from the federal, state, local sectors, public sector, private sector, the everyday public,” Snider, of the Governors Freeway Security Affiliation, mentioned. “We need everyday drivers to get involved.”
It took almost a month for police to trace down the motive force of a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen allegedly concerned in Tilly’s loss of life. Authorities have charged Davontay Robins with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, felony hit-and-run driving, and driving with a suspended license as a result of a earlier DUI. He has pleaded not responsible to all prices and is out on bail.
Kris Edwards now tends to the couple’s yard backyard by himself. Since his spouse’s loss of life, he has skilled sleep deprivation, fatigue, and hassle consuming, and he depends on a cane to stroll. His medical doctors attribute his illnesses to the mind’s response to grief.
“I’m not alone,” he mentioned. “But I am lonely, in this big, empty house without my partner.”
Edwards hopes for justice for his spouse, although he mentioned he’s not sure if prosecutors will get a conviction. He needs her loss of life to imply one thing: safer streets, slower driving, and for pedestrians to be cautious when getting out and in of vehicles parked on busy streets.
“I want my wife’s death to be a warning to others who get too comfortable and let their guard down even for a moment,” he mentioned. “That moment is all it takes.”
