Pedestrian deaths rose in 2010 nationwide

More walking on unsafe streets

Jay Blazek Crossley, Dec 13, 11.

Pedestrian fatalities and injuries in traffic increased markedly from 2009 to 2010, while overall traffic fatalities continues to decrease, according to USA Today.

The increase in pedestrian deaths may be attributable to a lack of government attention to pedestrian safety meeting increases in desire for walking, according to USA Today:

Many opting to walk or use public transportation also remain vulnerable. NHTSA reported pedestrian fatalities, included in the overall figures, increased from 4,109 to 4,280 in 2010.

David Goldberg, spokesman for the Transportation for America campaign, said most pedestrian fatalities occur on arterial roads in urban areas. These roadways, he said, are often not designed to accommodate pedestrians.

“They’re too fast, too wide, and in many cases, way over capacity,” Goldberg said.

Transportation for American, a Washington-based coalition of groups advocating transportation issues, published a report earlier this year ranking the “most dangerous” metropolitan areas.
Goldberg said traffic engineers should incorporate more crosswalks in roadways. In some areas, pedestrians must walk far out of their way to the nearest crosswalk.

“We have to look at how these roads are being used now and that there’s a different population there,” he said.
Some speculate that distracted pedestrians with cell phones and other devices explain the hike in deaths. However, there is currently no clear evidence linking the two, Goldberg said.

Texas had the most traffic fatalities of any state in 2010, at 2,998 deaths, according to data and charts provided by Governing. While California has 12 million more residents than Texas, the state had fewer at 2715 deaths. The next three largest states by population, New York, Florida, and Illinois, had 1200, 2445, and 927 deaths, respectively.

Houston ranks 9th in the nation among the most dangerous metro areas for pedestrians according to a report released earlier this year, while most drivers who kill pedestrians in Houston are not prosecuted, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Charts and data from Governing: