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This new technology aims to make pedestrians safer on DC streets

Pedestrian deaths are at a 30-year high. Car companies at the Washington Auto Show say they want to bring the number down.

WASHINGTON — Automakers on display at the Washington Auto Show say they are working towards a future of fewer pedestrian deaths.

Companies like Nissan, Toyota and General Motors showed off pedestrian detection systems available in some of their cars. Nissan has pledged to put its Safety Shield 360 on all its top-selling models by next year, according to a company news release.

"Right now, pedestrian safety is surprisingly important to the auto industry," Jamie Page Deaton, an executive editor with U.S. News & World Report covering the automotive industry, said.

The Governors Highway Safety Association found that more than 6,000 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in 2018, the highest number in almost 30 years. Local governments, such as Washington D.C., have Vision Zero campaigns toward no pedestrian deaths.

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"It’s a key part of the overall picture," Page Deaton said. "The local government can put as many pedestrian protections as they want, but if the cars themselves aren’t safe then those protections will only go so far."

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Nissan says its forward-facing radar and cameras can track crossing pedestrians, give audio and visual warnings, and even apply brakes to make a crash less severe.

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Deaton said if a collision does happen, some cars have redesigned hoods to cause somebody to roll over the top of the car and not get killed.

"No automaker wants to be seen as unsafe for the people in their cars, but also around it," she said.

Deaton cautions that new systems are not a replacement for attentive driving, but she said every little bit helps on the road to safer streets through safer cars.

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