The 'Average Driver' Doesn't Exist—Here's Why That Matters

When the Air Force measured 4,063 pilots in the 1950s, they discovered something shocking. Not a single pilot was average across all 10 key body dimensions they'd measured.

They'd designed cockpits for an average person who didn't exist. The fix was simple: make everything adjustable so the design worked for everyone, not an imaginary middle.

American streets are making the same mistake right now. Most roads are designed for an "average driver" who is just as imaginary as that average pilot.

This phantom driver materializes inside their car, drives perfectly, then disappears. They never walk across a street, never ride a bike, never take a bus, and only make long trips.

The ghost driver has perfect vision and hearing, stays constantly alert, never experiences pain, doesn't use mobility aids, and isn't young or old. And apparently, waiting a few seconds behind a pedestrian will somehow destroy the economy.

Here's what planners forget: even the most dedicated driver is a pedestrian at the start and end of every trip. They walk from their front door to the car, from the parking space to the office, from the parking lot into the store.

By building streets only for drivers, cities make parts of every single trip uncomfortable or dangerous for everyone. Even people who drive everywhere still have to walk sometimes.

The Bright Side

The solution is already here. Complete Streets design treats roads like those adjustable cockpits: infrastructure that works for the full range of how people actually move.

That means protected bike lanes for cyclists, wide sidewalks for wheelchairs and strollers, crosswalks designed for people who move slowly, and bus lanes that make transit faster than driving. It means designing for real humans in all their variety.

Cities implementing Complete Streets aren't just helping pedestrians and cyclists. They're making life better for drivers too, because drivers are also pedestrians, and someday might need a wheelchair or walker themselves.

When we stop designing for ghosts and start designing for everyone, our streets finally work the way they should.