Dive Brief:
- Pedestrian traffic fatalities in the U.S. totaled 7,318 people in 2023, according to preliminary data released June 26 by the Governors Highway Safety Association, representing a 5.4% decline from the prior year.
- While noted as “welcome news” by the GHSA, last year’s total is 14.1% above the pre-pandemic level in 2019. Pedestrian deaths are increasing faster than overall traffic fatalities, the GHSA said in its report.
- The GHSA found that light-duty trucks accounted for more than half of pedestrian deaths where the vehicle type was known, up from 44% in 2012. Light-duty trucks, which are those with a gross vehicle weight up to 8,500 pounds and can include pickup trucks, minivans, sport-utility vehicles and crossover utility vehicles, made up 62% of registered motor vehicles in the U.S. in 2023.
Dive Insight:
Despite well-intentioned efforts such as Complete Streets policies and Vision Zero communities, pedestrian deaths remain stubbornly high. The GHSA report cites a “steep drop in traffic enforcement across the country since 2020” along with dangerous driving behaviors and more larger and heavier vehicles such as pickups and SUVs on the road.
“We know how to improve safety for people walking – more infrastructure, vehicles designed to protect people walking, lower speeds and equitable traffic enforcement,” GHSA Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Adkins said in a statement. “It will take all this, and more, to keep the numbers going in the right direction.”
A 2023 Smart Cities Dive analysis of how cities have responded to rising pedestrian fatalities found that some municipalities that made public commitments to Vision Zero haven’t followed through, and others said they lack funds or the political will to make progress on these programs.
The 10 most populous U.S. cities accounted for 844 pedestrian deaths in 2022, the GHSA report found. Phoenix experienced a 60% jump in fatalities from 2020 to 2022, while Austin, Texas; Houston; Los Angeles; San Antonio, Texas, and San Diego trended upward in 2021 and 2022. The majority of pedestrian fatalities take place in urban areas, the report states.
More than three-quarters of pedestrian deaths in 2022 happened at night and two-thirds occured where sidewalks were absent, as noted in crash reports, according to the GHSA.
In December, the Federal Highway Administration updated federal regulations pertaining to traffic signs, signals and other roadway markings. “Stronger language on crosswalk markings, traffic signals and sidewalk detours and closures,” along with more audible information devices for visually impaired pedestrians, will help improve safety for pedestrians, said FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt in a YouTube video.
