At some point in the day, everyone is a pedestrian. While pedestrian fatalities remain high, there was a 1.7% decrease in the number of pedestrians killed in traffic crashes in 2017, totaling 5,977 deaths, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

Since 2014, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio has set a goal, or more specifically a “vision,” that traffic deaths and injuries on city streets is, in his words, “not acceptable and… serious crashes will no longer (be regarded) as inevitable. We won’t accept this any longer.”

In these days and times, knowing what we know, with most cars buzzing or beeping until the seat belt is fastened, why on earth would anyone choose to drive or ride without the obvious and easy protection that safety belts provide?

I’ve never given much thought to pedestrian safety because I’ve never been in harm’s way or seen pedestrians at risk. That’s until two months ago. In February I attended a conference in Houston.

Not long ago I bought a new car. It had been a while. While I was on the sidelines, the auto industry has been experiencing unprecedented transformation. One researcher claims there will be ten million self-driving cars on the road by 2020, with one in four cars being self-driving by 2030.