Pedestrian deaths have surged on U.S. roads in recent years, and they are climbing again.
\nPedestrian deaths hit a 40-year high in 2021, and numbers for the first half of 2022 were up about 5% over the same period in 2021, according to a new Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) analysis.
\nIt cites a variety of contributors, including heavier vehicles that are more likely to injure or kill people on foot. Roads, meanwhile, are designed to prioritize fast-moving traffic over the slower speeds that are safer for pedestrians, according to the GHSA.
\nMany parts of the United States lack adequate sidewalks, crosswalks and lighting, the group noted.
\nIn addition, dangerous driving surged at the start of the pandemic and has not abated.
\n\u201cThere is a pedestrian safety crisis on our roads, and it\u2019s only gotten worse since the start of the pandemic,\u201d Jonathan Adkins, chief executive officer of GHSA, said in an association news release. \u201cA single roadway death is tragic. But it\u2019s absolutely mind-boggling and heartbreaking that drivers are killing an average of 19 pedestrians every single day.\u201d
\nGHSA\u2019s annual Spotlight on Highway Safety report is based on preliminary data from state highway safety offices.
\nGHSA said the increase is even more alarming compared to 2019, before the pandemic.
\nBetween the first half of 2019 and 2022, pedestrian deaths surged 18%, the GHSA found. The numbers showed 1.04 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people in 2022, up from 0.9 per 100,000 in 2019.
\nThere were 168 more deaths during the first half of 2022 compared to the first half of 2021, the findings showed.
\n\u201cThe only way to reverse this awful trend is to do more of everything that works \u2014 more and better designed infrastructure to keep people walking safe, equitable enforcement of traffic safety laws to stop dangerous driving and engaging more communities where the impacts of this crisis are felt the hardest,\u201d Adkins said.
\nThe GHSA said it supports a solution based on the Safe System approach outlined in the U.S. Department of Transportation\u2019s National Roadway Safety Strategy.
\nIts elements \u2014 safe road users, safe vehicles, safe speeds, safe roads and post-crash care \u2014 provide a multilayered safety net to protect people on foot as well as other road users, GHSA said.
\nThe reported increases continue a decade-long trend.
\nIn the first half of 2013, the United States recorded 2,141 pedestrian deaths \u2014 compared to 3,434 in the first half of last year. That’s a 60% increase and nearly 1,300 more people killed.
\nThe U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that 2021 also saw the most roadway deaths since 2005, about 43,000.
\nPedestrian deaths increased in 24 states during the first half of last year. Another 21 states saw declines. Four states had unchanged numbers. Oklahoma did not provide data.
\nCalifornia, Florida and Texas \u2014 which are home to 28% of the U.S. population \u2014 accounted for 38% of pedestrian deaths in the first six months of 2022. GHSA noted the states have warmer climates, which can increase foot travel, and many urban areas where vehicles and pedestrians are more likely to share the road.
\nGHSA plans to publish a second report this spring with state fatality projections for all of 2022, an analysis of 2021 data from the NHTSA and an overview of proven strategies to reduce pedestrian crashes and injuries.<\/p>\n
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