You would, however, be able to tell when higher-quality roads were built, by seeing an uptick in the death rate. The only time in US history when per-VMT death rates remained constant instead of falling was the years following the construction of the Interstates.

The only way to make sure fewer cars hit pedestrians is to ban either walking or driving. In the UK, pedestrians die in road accidents at one third the rate they did in 1920. The reason isn’t that safety improved; it’s that the increase in the number of cars has led people to walk less and play in the street less. As long as just a few people drive or just a few people walk, cars will hit pedestrians.

John Adam’s research, which does not in any way take into account steady increases in vehicle miles traveled, assumes something crucial- that people are, rational beings. Which they are not.

I promise, when I was 17 years old and doing stupid things in my car, I was not thinking that since I was safer becasue of the seat belt, I could go faster. The car was going to go as fast as it could, regardless of the safety equipment it had. The point though, is that due to mandatory seat belt laws, I had ingrained a habit of putting the seat belt on. I was safer, becasue the seat belt was on, regardless of what stupid things I was doing. People will do dangerous things regardless of the safety mechanisms that are there to protect them. Vehicle safety mechanisms do save lives. There is no way around that fact.

Reducing vehicle miles traveled, altering road design so that it is actually safer instead of faster, and enforcing existing traffic law (through things like automated enforcement) will all make things even safer for all of us, especially the most vulnerable, those who are not in cars at all.

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Research by Dr. John Adams (‘Risk in a Hypermobile World’) has thoroughly debunked this myth. Conventional “safety” technologies like ABS, air-bags, or even seat-belts have had no measurable impact on traffic fatalities. In fact, these technologies give a false sense of security, an encourage more aggressive driver behavior (i.e. “Risk Compensation”).

Road “safety” improvements due not reduce fatalities either. They do the opposite: increasing the volume and speed of cars on the roadway.