Tag Archive: pedestrian deaths

Pedestrian Deaths On The Rise

March 29, 2016

Pedestrian deaths are on the rise according to a new study conducted by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and predicts that 2015 pedestrian deaths will increase by ten percent over the previous year.

Data collection by safety organizations takes time and final fatality reports are normally 18 to 24 months behind. To conduct this study, the GHSA asked states for their preliminary data for the first six months of 2015 and compared those numbers to the first six months of 2014. According to the numbers, pedestrian deaths increased in 26 states and the District of Columbia. The rates were unchanged in three states and were down in 21 states.

The data shows that four states; California, Florida, Texas and New York, account for 42 percent of pedestrian deaths even though those states only make up 33 percent of the US population. Florida had the highest rate of pedestrian deaths but surprisingly, the number of pedestrian deaths in Florida declined by four percent over the previous year. Vermont had the lowest rate with zero pedestrian deaths.

While drivers necessarily deserve a lot of blame for pedestrian deaths, the pedestrians themselves must also share in the blame. Distractions for both drivers and pedestrians are on the increase with everyone feeling the need to stay connected online via texting or social media. The issue of texting while walking has become such a problem that the state of New Jersey and some US cities are considering laws to ban texting while walking. In England, a 20 foot statue spanning a walkway at the Salisbury Cathedral in Wiltshire had to be moved because pedestrians, with their eyes downcast looking at smartphones, kept bumping into it even though there was plenty of clearance to pass underneath.

A major problem for both drivers and pedestrians continues to be alcohol which was involved in approximately half of the pedestrian deaths. About 34 percent of pedestrians killed in crashes had a BAC of .08 or higher. Fifteen percent of drivers had a BAC of .08 or higher.

The time of day and place also played a part with 72 percent of pedestrian deaths happening during the hours of darkness. Most pedestrian deaths (74%) occur away from intersections.

According the the GHSA report, pedestrian deaths have been increasing steadily over the past ten years. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

For more information, read: Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities By State – 2015

Florida Leads In Pedestrian Deaths

March 4, 2015

Florida continues to be among the deadliest states for pedestrians according to a report from the Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA). The recently released report found that, nationwide, pedestrian deaths were just about the same in 2014 as they were in 2013. However, Florida’s pedestrian deaths continue to rise.

When comparing the preliminary pedestrian death rate for the first six months of 2013 and 2014, Florida led the nation with 292 pedestrian deaths; an increase of 50 deaths over the same six month period in 2013.

Florida is the third most populous state in the nation yet, when looking at the total pedestrian deaths for 2013, Florida, with 501 pedestrian deaths ranked second only behind California’s total of 701. Florida, with only 51 percent of California’s population had a pedestrian death rate equal to more than 71 percent of California’s. When looking at the pedestrian death rate per 100,000 population, Florida takes the lead.

State	Population in millions	Pedestrian death total	Per 100,000 population
California	38.8	701	1.83
Texas	26.9	480	1.81
Florida	19.9	501	2.56
New York	19.7	335	1.70

One might make the claim that the large number of tourists that visit Florida each year might skew the results. That idea might hold up if Florida led the nation in tourism but it doesn’t. California leads the nation in tourism followed by Florida according to a study by HotelsCombined, a hotel booking site.

Clearly Florida and Florida’s drivers are doing something wrong. A 2014 study by the George Washington University School of Business listed Orlando as the most dangerous city in the US for pedestrians and ranked Tampa and Miami among the top ten least walkable cities in America.

Florida cities need to consider walkability as part of their plan when building or improving roadways. Florida drivers need to be more aware of pedestrians, especially in heavily traveled tourist areas. Part of being a good defensive driver is considering what you would do if a pedestrian were to walk out into the roadway.