'It’s (Probably) Not Rocket Science' podcast explores road safety on two feet

The latest episode of It's (Probably) Not Rocket Science (IPNRS) titled "Exploring road safety on two feet," explains why pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities are increasing, and how quickly we can solve the problem.

Nick Ferenchak is an associate professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at The University of New Mexico and the director of the Center of Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety. Ferenchak says that although most people prefer driving over walking and biking to commute, a huge number of Americans are still killed by the cars they share the roads with.

"About 95% of people in Albuquerque drive to work, and we see similar numbers for a lot of cities across the U.S.," Ferenchak said. " A lot of people say 'I Don't walk or bike so, what's the big deal?'... about forty thousand Americans are killed every year… that's the number one killer of young and middle-aged Americans."

Ferenchak stresses the importance of safety for vulnerable road users, as pedestrians can be anyone commuting on two feet - even those trying to find their cars in the street or parking garages. Often bicyclists receive more attention even when pedestrian deaths are climbing.

"It's kind of funny because if you get into the bicycle world there's a lot of really passionate advocates. Bicyclists like to raise their voice and fight for bike lanes and all that kind of thing," Ferenchak said. "But for pedestrians, everyone is a pedestrian. Even if you park your car - you have to walk somewhere."

The pedestrian's advocacy just misses the turn as bicyclists' voices are speeding through transportation officials' radar. Ferenchak says advocacy is an important step to rethinking high-volume roadways that kill - especially in rural New Mexico.

"The issue is that when those rural highway roads pass through a developed area, you think of so many small New Mexico communities that state highways run right through the middle as a main street, but fundamentally, the design doesn't change… the speed does," Ferenchak said, about restructuring New Mexico's infrastructure.

Although pedestrian and bicyclist deaths are steadily increasing, the Department of Transportation and engineers are developing new technologies to prevent motor-caused deaths. One of the new technologies being invented to combat fatalities is the hybrid beacon, which flashes warnings at vehicles when a pedestrian wants to cross.

"A pedestrian hybrid beacon, maybe people have heard of it as a hawk beacon, goes over the arterial roadway and is blank ninety-nine percent of the time," Ferenchak said. "It flashes yellow as a warning to motorists 'Hey there's a pedestrian crossing' and it turns red and they should be able to safely cross the road.'

Rethinking infrastructure for New Mexico is happening one road at a time and with the many projects being completed by the DOT, progress will drive across the state in no time.

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