Examining a Lost Decade for Traffic Safety in Large US Cities

US traffic deaths increased during the 2010s, making it a global outlier. Comparing 2008-2012 with 2018-2022, traffic fatality rates increased most in the largest 100 US cities. Among these large cities, disparities between the safest and most dangerous cities increased over time. Low-income neighborhoods, pedestrians and bicyclists, 6:00-11:59 pm, and arterial and collector roadways were overrepresented factors in large city fatality rate increases. Cities that established Vision Zero policies had better safety outcomes than those without, but their fatality rates were not significantly lower when controlling for the advantages of higher density and higher income.