By almost every metric, streets got safer last year—except for people walking. Over the past 10 years, the number of pedestrian deaths has risen by over a third, according to the Governors Highway Safety Administration, which released preliminary 2018 data last month. Last year saw the highest number of pedestrians killed in the U.S. since 1990. Pedestrians now make up 18 percent of all traffic deaths; a decade ago they only made up 12 percent.

Over the last year, it’s also become more clear that SUVs, which have a larger body and a higher carriage, are twice as likely to deliver fatal blows to pedestrians…

A smartphone—which drivers used 57 percent more often in 2018 than they did in 2014, according to a new study—was also a factor in Uber’s crash.
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