Policy Memo
An analysis of data reported by State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) projects that 6,721 pedestrians were killed on U.S. roads in 2020, up 4.8% from 6,412 fatalities in 2019. The projected fatality rate for people walking spiked 21% for largest ever year-over-year increase as dangerous driving and traffic violence plagued U.S. roads. There are many reasons for this increase, some of which are within the control of state and local traffic safety officials and others which are not.
You are advising a member of the Wisconsin State Legislature who has received multiple complaints from constituents about the problem of pedestrian fatalities in your district. In a 750–1000 word memo, assemble some evidence on the extent and severity of this problem in Wisconsin, the landscape of existing state policies that aim to address this problem, and evidence on policy alternatives that might help to address the problem.
Specifically, your memo should discuss the following:
1.) Evidence on the extent and severity of the problem of pedestrian fatalities in Wisconsin. Compare the rate of distracted driving injury/fatalities in Wisconsin to other states, to other causes of vehicular fatality in Wisconsin. Note whether the problem is getting better or worse.
2.) Evidence on one or more likely causes of these fatalities, if any exists.
3.) Evidence on the effects of at least two policy interventions that have been shown to contribute to a substantive and statistically significant decrease in pedestrian fatalities.
Your memo should incorporate your knowledge of how to communicate effectively about statistics. You should also provide full citations (in Chicago Manual of Style footnotes) to credible sources of information on each of these questions. These citations will not count towards the final word count.
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