But while pedestrian death rates are rising in the US, other high-income countries have been able to bring those numbers down. The main difference, the study says, is roadway design. Roadways in the US are designed to prioritize speed over safety, with an emphasis on moving cars quickly to decongest traffic. Similarly, conflicting messages of low speed limits in areas with wide, straight lanes and infrequent or non-signalized intersections make people feel comfortable driving at higher speeds.

Not all pedestrians face the same amount of danger. Older adults, people of color, low-income residents, and older adults are much more likely to die while walking. More specifically, Black pedestrians are twice as likely to be hit and killed than white pedestrians; Native Americans are nearly three times more likely to be hit and killed. Low income communities have pedestrian fatality rates nearly three times higher than neighborhoods with median household incomes.

The lack of safety-first design can be more apparently observed in low income communities with fewer resources. These neighborhoods are less likely to have sidewalks, marked crosswalks, and access to parks and other safe recreational walking areas. Plus, it’s cheaper and there’s less resistance to building expressways in these communities, which leads to high speed and lots of traffic, Scientific American reported in 2012. Higher speeds make it more difficult to anticipate and react to problems, and mean that, if there is a crash, a victim is less likely to survive.