Angie Schmitt's book, "Right of Way: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America," exposes the U.S.

The nation is grappling with a pedestrian safety crisis that has worsened in recent years: The number of pedestrians killed in the U.S.

While the crisis stems from many factors, a new book brings it into sharper focus. Former Streetsblog USA writer Angie Schmitt's "Right of Way: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America" is an exposé drawing upon comprehensive reporting to articulate the root causes of a public health crisis. .

"If we analyze these patterns, they tell us very clearly that pedestrian deaths are not just random acts of God or bad luck, nor are they the result of individual decision-making or laziness (although both bad luck and bad decisions often play a role)," Schmitt writes.

Angie Schmitt's book, "Right of Way: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America." (Photo: Island Press).

Multiple studies have demonstrated that SUVs are much more likely than passenger cars to kill pedestrians when collisions occur, Schmitt said.

One study, for example, found that large SUVs cause about 110 deaths per 1,000 pedestrian collisions, compared with 45 deaths caused by sedans.

While experts widely agree that distracted driving is likely a factor in increased pedestrian deaths, data proving this thesis is hard to come by, in part because of insufficient police reporting.

Black, Hispanic and Native American pedestrians face a greater risk than white people of being killed, according to the book. Schmitt notes that people of color are more likely to rely on walking as their primary way of getting around and are more likely to use mass transit, which requires additional walking

"It's likely that they're walking in environments where the conditions are riskier, where the streets are designed with higher speeds and more lanes to cross," University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professor and pedestrian safety expert Robert Schneider told the author

A 2014 study of behavior in Portland, Oregon, found that Black pedestrians waited 32% longer to cross the road and "were passed by twice as many cars," according to the book

More than half of pedestrian deaths occur on what planners call "suburban arterials," which Schmitt describes as "wide, high-speed roads that have a lot of commercial and residential destinations."

Journalists often fail to pay enough attention to road conditions and other factors that contribute to pedestrian collisions when reporting about those situations, Schmitt argues

30% more likely to blame the pedestrian than when the driver was centered —  'Driver hits, kills pedestrian on east side.'"