A number of trends offer insight into the many causes behind the rise in pedestrian fatalities:
Most pedestrian fatalities take place on local roads, at night and away from intersections, suggesting the need for safer road crossings and increased efforts to make pedestrians and vehicles more visible. During the past 10 years, the number of nighttime pedestrian fatalities increased by 67%, compared to a 16% increase in daytime pedestrian fatalities.
Many unsafe driving behaviors – such as speeding, distracted and drowsy driving – pose risks to pedestrians, and alcohol impairment by the driver and/or pedestrian was reported in nearly half of traffic crashes that resulted in pedestrian fatalities in 2018.
Pedestrians struck by a large SUV are twice as likely to die as those struck by a car. Although passenger cars are the largest category of vehicles in fatal pedestrian crashes, the number of pedestrian fatalities over the past decade involving SUVs increased at a faster rate – 81% – than passenger cars, which increased by 53%.
Feb 27, 2020:WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) predicts that 6,590 pedestrian fatalities occurred in 2019, the highest number in more than 30 years.
GHSA asked states to report pedestrian fatalities for the first six months of 2019. After adjusting the raw data based on historical trends, GHSA projects a 5% increase in the number of pedestrians killed during the full 2019 calendar year. In 2018, 6,227 people on foot lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes.
GHSA’s annual “Spotlight on Highway Safety” offers a first look at state and national trends in 2019 pedestrian traffic deaths, based on preliminary data provided by State Highway Safety Offices in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Richard Retting of Sam Schwartz Consulting analyzed the data and authored the report.
“In the past 10 years, the number of pedestrian fatalities on our nation’s roadways has increased by more than 50%,” said GHSA Executive Director Jonathan Adkins. “This alarming trend signifies that we need to consider all the factors involved in this rise, identify the high-risk areas, allocate resources where they’re needed most, and continue to work with local law enforcement partners to address the chronic driver violations that contribute to pedestrian crashes.”
Pedestrians are projected to account for 17% of all traffic deaths in 2019, compared to 12% in 2009. While pedestrian deaths have been increasing significantly over the past decade, the number of all other traffic deaths has increased by only 2%. A statistical projection of traffic fatalities for the first half of 2019 (conducted by NHTSA) shows an estimated 3.4% reduction in overall traffic fatalities compared to the first half of 2018. Although advancements in motor vehicle safety and technology have increased survivability for vehicle occupants involved in crashes, pedestrians remain just as susceptible to sustaining serious or fatal injuries when struck by a motor vehicle.
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Drivers — careless, distracted, going too fast — are usually to blame for the growing number of crashes that kill pedestrians and cyclists.
In an effort to identify patterns, The New York Times analyzed city crash data on both injuries and deaths.
The examination showed that much of the problem comes down to careless driving, including driver inattention, failing to yield and speeding.
Despite a perception that pedestrians are darting into traffic and cyclists are flouting the rules, the police cited errors by pedestrians and cyclists in less than 5 percent of fatal crashes last year. There were also three fatal crashes that did not involve a vehicle, in which a pedestrian and cyclist collided.
The victims represent a cross section of New Yorkers — young and old; women and men; wealthy and working class. A 10-year-old boy was killed in Brooklyn; a beloved pediatrician died in Manhattan.
see the full article for an in-depth analysis of the data: