The Federal Government Should Stop Victim-Shaming Walkers

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)—part of the United States Department of Transportation—is the federal agency charged with overseeing safety on the nation’s roadways. Their mission is to “Save lives, prevent injuries, reduce vehicle-related crashes.”

They should not be confused with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the group that actually shows up at the scene of crashes, investigates the underlying causes, and then directs actions to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce crashes, albeit primarily for air travel (not vehicles, except for “major incidents”).

If the NHTSA showed up at crashes, they would need to be one of the largest and most intense federal agencies in the United States since every day dozens of people are killed—what I think they and their families would call a “major incident”—and hundreds seriously injured on our nation’s roadways. Every. Single. Day.

Instead, the NHTSA has worked to fulfill its mission, in the age of social media, with friendly messages such as this one:

What makes this kind of thinking so pernicious is the notion that safety is a “shared responsibility,” that someone walking a sidewalk or even crossing a street has even a fraction of the responsibility for safety that someone driving a multi-ton motor vehicle has.

I said in a podcast, after preparing testimony for a court case that was settled before I took the stand, that Our Streets Should Be Safe for Everyone – Yes, Even Those Who Are Under The Influence. As Rachel Quednau wrote for us in 2018:

"We have to reject the notion that people in the throes of [alcohol or drug addiction] would deserve to die," says Chuck. "We can't throw these people away." 

The 8 80 movement, which advocates for streets that are safe for people from age 8 to age 80, has plenty of room for someone who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs and whose judgement may be impaired. We should be designing our streets for children and seniors and, yes, people who are drunk. 

I agreed to be an expert witness in that case to support the notion that everyone—with no exceptions—should be safe when they’re walking, especially in places where they are expected to be walking.

Fortunately, a good number of people are pushing back on the NHTSA’s shifting of responsibility.

A Strong Town is safe for people who are walking, biking, scootering, using a wheelchair, or getting around under their own power as humans have been getting around for thousands of years. If they want to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce vehicle-related crashes, the NTSHA should focus on slowing the cars in places where humans outside of a vehicle are present.

Top image via Michael Jin.

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Charles Marohn
Charles Marohn

Charles Marohn—known as “Chuck” to friends and colleagues—is the founder and president of Strong Towns. He is a land use planner and civil engineer with decades of experience. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning, both from the University of Minnesota.

Marohn is the author of Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity (Wiley, 2019) and Confessions of a Recovering Engineer: Transportation for a Strong Town (Wiley 2021). He hosts the Strong Towns Podcast and is a primary writer for Strong Towns’ web content. He has presented Strong Towns concepts in hundreds of cities and towns across North America.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnNHTSA, walkability, pedestrians, safe and productive streets