In the early morning hours of January 27, 2024, tragedy struck Glasgow’s Great Western Road. Scott Willies, a 65-year-old businessman and former director of the Arnold Clark car sales group, was out for his habitual 30,000-step walk—a daily routine that had become second nature. As he made his way across the road, a First Bus driven by Amarjit Singh, 56, approached the junction en route to Clydebank. In a moment that would forever alter the lives of two families, Singh failed to spot Willies, despite a clear 700-meter view down the straight stretch of road. The bus, traveling at 24 miles per hour, struck Willies, who had crossed just before the recognized crossing area as the traffic light turned amber and the pedestrian signal displayed red.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene and performed CPR, but Willies died there, his daily walk ending in heartbreak for his family and friends. As reported by BBC, Sheriff John McCormick, presiding over the subsequent case at Glasgow Sheriff Court, remarked, “I read the terms of the victim impact statement and I can understand their torment at the manner of his demise.” The loss resonated deeply throughout the community, with Willies remembered as “a long serving colleague and respected Director of the Arnold Clark Group. He was much loved and will be sorely missed by all of his wider family and his many friends.”
The court heard that Singh, who was not distracted by his phone and whose vehicle had no defects, admitted to killing Willies by careless driving. He pleaded guilty, with his defense counsel, David Nicolson KC, expressing sincere condolences to the Willies family: “He hopes in some small way that his plea of guilty will offer them some comfort and allow matters to progress rather than what would have been the case.” Singh was disqualified from driving, his bail continued, and sentencing deferred until November 2025.
This tragic incident is not an isolated event. According to Common Dreams and data from the Governors Highway Safety Association, 2024 saw 7,148 pedestrians killed by personal motor vehicles across the United States, a figure just shy of a 40-year high. The risks for walkers and cyclists are ever-present, with more than 1,000 cyclists killed annually in recent years, as reported by NPR. These numbers are not just statistics; they represent lives upended, families grieving, and communities searching for answers.
As cities grapple with the consequences of rising pedestrian and cyclist fatalities, the policy landscape has grown increasingly contentious. On September 9, 2025, the Trump administration began canceling multimillion-dollar federal grants aimed at improving pedestrian safety and expanding bike lanes, citing that such projects were “hostile” to motor vehicles and reduced roadway capacity. A $1.2 million grant for a San Diego County road improvement project, which included bike lanes, was rescinded. Similar cancellations followed in Fairfield, Alabama, and Boston, all justified by a need to “preserve or increase roadway capacity for motor vehicles.”
Other projects, like a 44-mile walking trail along the Naugatuck River in Connecticut and new rail trail miles in Albuquerque, lost funding for not promoting vehicular travel. The cuts were part of a broader effort to reduce discretionary federal grants under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, which had been signed into law in 2021. According to StreetsBlog, the Trump administration implemented safety grant funding at only about 10% of the speed of the previous Biden administration, slowing progress on initiatives designed to protect vulnerable road users.
These policy decisions fly in the face of mounting evidence that infrastructure changes—like adding bike lanes and pedestrian islands—can save lives. The Federal Highway Administration’s own research indicates that “studies indicate a 19 to 47% reduction in overall crashes when a Road Diet is installed on a previously four-lane undivided facility as well as a decrease in crashes involving drivers under 35 years of age and over 65 years of age.” Yet, as Common Dreams notes, the Trump administration has prioritized car-centric projects, even attempting to block high-speed rail construction in California and congestion pricing in New York.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has publicly criticized public transit and bike lanes, associating them with increased crime and congestion. On Fox News, Duffy stated, “if you’re liberal, they want you to take public transportation,” and went on to describe subways as “dirty” and dangerous. However, data between 2007 and 2023 show that deaths from automobile accidents were 100 times more likely than deaths on buses and 20 times more likely than on passenger trains, according to federal statistics compiled by the National Safety Council.
Communities affected by these funding cuts are not giving up. Rick Dunne, executive director of the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments, told the CT Post, “Look, if your definition of improving quality of life is promoting vehicular travel, that’s just, on its face, bad. Increase vehicle travel, increase pollution, increase safety risks. Taking this money from this project, putting it into highway travel, is in no way going to increase economic efficiency. I don’t see how you argue that it improves the quality of life of Americans, or the residents of this valley.”
Amid these policy battles, safety advocates emphasize that individual behavior remains crucial. As NPR reported, experts like Ryan Sharp and Julia Kite-Laidlaw urge pedestrians and cyclists to practice “defensive walking and cycling.” Their advice is practical: use sidewalks and bike paths, cross at marked crosswalks, wear bright and reflective clothing, and make yourself visible with bike lights. “Never assume that a driver sees you,” Kite-Laidlaw explains, noting that more than three-quarters of pedestrian deaths happen after dark, often in places without sidewalks.
Sharp adds that looking not just left and right, but also behind before crossing a street, can save lives. “Oftentimes the greatest hazards if you’re a pedestrian trying to cross at an intersection are actually coming from behind you,” he says. Distractions like phones and headphones should be avoided, and cyclists are encouraged to use helmets and hand signals to communicate with drivers and other road users.
The message from safety experts is clear: while drivers bear responsibility for safe driving, everyone on the road plays a role in reducing accidents. Infrastructure changes, policy decisions, and individual choices all intersect in the ongoing struggle to make streets safer for everyone—walkers, bikers, and drivers alike. As cities and communities across the country debate priorities, the story of Scott Willies stands as a somber reminder of what is at stake.
Even as some projects lose federal support, local leaders and advocates remain determined to push forward, convinced that road safety improvements are not just common sense—they are a matter of life and death.
