If they are standing in the road, maybe they deserve to get hit.
Look at a population density map of someplace out east compared to one of the more populated western states (like colorado), while Colorado has a large area with few or no people, that is where the roads aren't, the front range consists of a bunch of cities about three or four hours apart, all of the major population centers. I won't bother checking the miles, because three or four hours apart is still about the same out east, people just fudge 15 rather than fudge 5.
Maybe it worked like that when the highways were started, but now, while you have more nothing out west, you also have a lot of something with a speed limit of 75, and it is in the whole lot of nothing places that you get more crashes, cause people aren't paying attention (holycrap a curve! that is the first one in an hour). Now I think it is just stupid laws. And I am pretty sure I-70 through kansas is 65, I remember being happy when we got back into Colorado because I could finally speed up without getting in trouble, I had had a cop in front of me for about an hour.