High profile pedestrian, bike, and scooter deaths highlighted a tough 2018 for safety, as jurisdictions around the region continue efforts to end traffic fatalities.

D.C., Alexandria City, and Fairfax County saw upticks in deaths on the roads between last year and this year. Montgomery, Loudoun, and Arlington counties saw decreases. Prince George’s County is not yet reporting data for 2018.

While there have been significant improvements over recent decades, safety activists say governments aren’t moving quickly enough to eliminate deaths altogether.

The District has had 34 traffic deaths so far this year—that’s about 13 percent higher than last year.

Fifteen pedestrians, eight motorcyclists, seven in vehicles, three cyclists, and one scooter rider were killed in 2018.

Two pedestrians were killed this week. Monica Adams Carlson, who is mayor of Skagway, Alaska, and her mother Cora Louise Adams, were vacationing in D.C. when they were hit in a crosswalk near the Archives by a left-turning tour bus. It was the same intersection where a similar incident happened a decade ago.

And that is part of the challenge for the District Department of Transportation: identifying and fixing problem intersections. More on that in a bit.

Prince George’s County has had nearly double or triple the number of deaths as other Maryland jurisdictions in recent years. According to state data, it had 92 fatalities last year. Data was not yet available for 2018.

Fairfax County led Virginia with 43 deaths this year, an increase from 35 last year.

Michael Farrell, a transportation planner with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, says the increases are not only a regional trend but a national one.

“We’ve had a lot of backsliding (in recent years),” Farrell said. “During the Great Recession, we had far less driving because of gas prices. That accounts for a big part of an increase… simply more people on the road.”

The region’s vast diversity of landscapes from the densely-populated streets of D.C. to stretches of rural highway in Loudoun County means different jurisdictions are tackling the same problem with different solutions.

D.C. had a big wake up call this fall after multiple high-profile traffic deaths. Officials accelerated a number of projects aimed at combating the issue, and an enforcement blitz produced 13,500 tickets over three days in October.

The blitz focused on areas that create unsafe conditions for cyclists and pedestrians, like obstructing crosswalks, parking too close to an intersection, and stopping in a bike lane.

In January, DDOT will install “No Turn On Red” signs at 100 intersections. It will also create “hardened left turns” at 50 intersections. Those “calming measures” slow vehicle speeds in crosswalks and force a 90-degree turn that’s safer for pedestrians.

George Branyan, DDOT’s pedestrian program coordinator, says that one problem is driver education. Out-of-town drivers are unfamiliar with D.C.’s complex road layout and urban environment.

“We can’t make Maryland and Virginia have a more rigorous drivers training,” Branyan said. “This has always been a frustration that people from other jurisdictions where they may not be driving around so many pedestrians… it takes it takes a different mindset.”

Prince George’s officials say they have the largest land area and most miles driven, and therefore higher numbers of accidents. The county also has higher numbers of people walking as part of their commute, which contributes to an increase in pedestrian deaths—at least 24 in 2017.

The county’s 2017 strategic plan calls for addressing aggressive and distracted driving and improving problem intersections.

More rural areas like Virginia’s Loudoun County, have fewer pedestrian-car interactions, but higher speeds on roads lead to more traffic deaths. Loudoun is so far not participating in a Vision Zero program.

To reach zero, as Mayor Muriel Bowser proposed in 2015, the District will need to reduce fatalities and serious injuries by 35 percent each year through 2024.

Twenty years ago, 60 to 70 people were killed a year in the District and deaths have been cut since.

Branyan says those gains are thanks to a focus on drunk driving and seat belt enforcement. Speed cameras and red light cameras have helped lower speeds, which means fewer fatal crashes. Additionally, cars have become safer.

But the low hanging fruit has already been picked. Now comes the harder part of lowering the death rate among vulnerable users like cyclists and pedestrians.

“I think drivers have an extra special role to be safe because they have the large vehicle that will cause so much harm,” Branyan said. “Everybody needs to abide by the rules of the road.”

Some physical improvements around the District will take time to build, and likely take some time to show results.

But with many politicians promising success with Vision Zero while deaths continue, pedestrian and bike advocates are upset and want dramatic changes quicker.

With every bike hit and every pedestrian killed, the call for accelerating change becomes more and more urgent.

This story originally appeared on WAMU.