Some of the same behaviors that pose well-known dangers for drivers are contributing to a staggering rise in pedestrian fatalities. A new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association says drinking and distractions are two factors in a pedestrian death count that stands on the verge of surpassing 6000 people for the first time in more than two decades.
Based on preliminary numbers, the nonprofit organization says 5997 pedestrians were killed on U.S. roads in 2016. That represents an 11 percent year-over-year increase, the largest single-year spike in the four decades that federal records have been kept. The second-largest increase came one year earlier.
Over the past five years, pedestrian deaths have increased at four times the rate of overall traffic deaths, which are also sharply rising, a figure that has transportation officials and safety advocates sounding alarm bells and calling for reforms.
“Pedestrian fatalities in the U.S. are rising at an alarming and unprecedented rate,” said Richard Retting, the report’s author.
Since reaching a low of 4109 in the recession year of 2009, U.S. pedestrian fatalities have risen 45 percent, according to the GHSA figures. As the economy improves, Americans are driving more miles than ever—more than 3 trillion per year, according to the Federal Highway Administration, which explains part of the increase. But other factors are more troublesome.
A Few Familiar Culprits
Alcohol is involved in roughly a third of overall traffic fatalities—but almost half the pedestrian deaths, and the drinking is more often done by those on foot. An estimated 34 percent of these fatal crashes involved pedestrians with a blood-alcohol reading of 0.08 percent or higher, according to the GHSA report, while 15 percent of drivers involved in fatal pedestrian accidents register at or above the same level.
Distractions also play a role, although that is more difficult to quantify. The new report says the use of smartphones by all road users may be a contributing factor; the number of annual multimedia messages increased by 45 percent from 2014 to 2015 and the volume of wireless data usage more than doubled, according to the Wireless Association.
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“Pedestrian fatalities in the U.S. are rising at an alarming and unprecedented rate.” – Richard Retting, Governors Highway Safety Association
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A 2013 study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that 660,000 drivers are using their smartphones on U.S. roads at any given daylight moment, a number that has surely increased in the years since the study was done. There’s no definitive figure on the number of pedestrians texting while walking, but the rise of the “pedtextrian” has been documented anecdotally.
Although drinking or distractions do not necessarily correlate to fault for pedestrians, the GHSA report notes those behaviors can diminish their reaction times and affect decision making.
There are other factors. America’s growing preference for SUVs and pickup trucks means more drivers are behind the wheel of vehicles that can make it harder to see people, especially small children, close to the vehicle. Weather patterns can vary significantly year over year, and sunny conditions can lead to more people walking outside.
Deaths Drop in Big Cities
More Americans are walking to work as well. An estimated 4.1 million people reported walking to work in the past week during the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey, about a 4 percent increase from the previous survey, a decade earlier. They’re often walking along suburban roads that lack sidewalks and other pedestrian-oriented infrastructure.
That aligns with a curious anomaly unearthed in the GHSA report. Amid the historic rise in pedestrian deaths, they’re actually decreasing in America’s largest cities. Retting says that pedestrian fatalities dropped 3.5 percent in the nation’s 10 largest cities from 2014 to 2015, a time period with a 10 percent overall increase.
In recent years, big cities like Philadelphia and Los Angeles have started Vision Zero programs, road-safety efforts that aim to build pedestrian-friendly infrastructure at critical intersections and to push enforcement. The drop might be an indication that such efforts are working. But that means suburbia might be absorbing the brunt of the whopping increase.
Much of the increase is specific to certain geographic areas. Fifteen states actually saw decreases in pedestrian deaths between 2015 and 2016, but other states saw huge increases. In Alabama, deaths rose from 39 to 58 in the first six months of 2016 compared with the same time period a year earlier, a 48 percent increase. In Texas, pedestrian deaths rose from 242 to 322, a 33 percent spike. Pedestrian deaths climbed 64 percent in Minnesota and 54 percent in Kansas in the six-month comparisons between 2015 and 2016.
In the latest full-year data available, Delaware holds the highest rate of pedestrian deaths, losing 3.4 pedestrians per 100,000 state residents in 2015, followed by Florida at 3 per 100,000 residents. Idaho registers as the safest state, with a fatality rate of 0.5 pedestrian per 100,000 residents. The U.S. average is 1.8.
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