US pedestrian deaths at 43-year high

More than 20 pedestrians in the US were killed each day last year while walking along or crossing US roadways, the deadliest rate since 1980, according to a report.

Drivers struck and killed at least 7,500 pedestrians last year, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), a nonprofit that tracks pedestrian deaths in the US.

Pedestrian deaths nationwide last year were up 1 percent from 2021. Between 2010 and 2021, pedestrian deaths have gone up 77 percent. While other traffic-related deaths also increased, they were at a comparatively lower rate of 25 percent.

In 2021, most pedestrian fatalities — more than 80 percent — occurred at night, according to the report.

With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, the deaths of pedestrians increased as empty roads led to an even greater surge in speeding and distracted driving.

Speeding accounted for 29 percent of all fatalities in 2020 and 2021, a greater proportion than the prior four years. The total number of speeding-related fatalities in 2021 increased by 7.9 percent from the previous year, according to the report.

The prevalence of SUVs and trucks was another reason attributed to the increase in pedestrian deaths, the report said, with deaths involving SUVs increasing at a faster rate.

"A general rule is the larger and heavier the vehicle, the lower the chances a person on foot will survive a crash," the report said.

"Some of these larger vehicles, the driver's sight lines are not nearly as good. It's harder to see people close to the vehicle, so it can be harder to prevent a collision," Adam Snider, a spokesman for the GHSA, told US News. "Larger and heavy vehicles are definitely one of the factors behind the awful surge in deaths."

The report also found that people of color were overrepresented in pedestrian fatalities. According to a research study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in 2022, black people experience a pedestrian death rate that is 118 percent higher than that of white people.

"One of the big things is there has been a historic and systemic underinvestment in infrastructure in these communities of color, things like sidewalks, lighting, crosswalks, slow speeds, road designs that slow down drivers and force vehicles to go at speeds that are safer for pedestrians," Snider told US News.

Although data for 2021 or 2022 is still unavailable, data from 2018 to 2020 indicates a decrease in deaths for white pedestrians from 47 percent to 41 percent. However, during the same period, deaths for black pedestrians increased from 19 percent to 20 percent, and deaths for Hispanic people increased from 20 percent to 21 percent.

The report highlights that the US is still falling behind in its efforts to enhance road safety, with the majority of pedestrian deaths occurring not at an intersection, but where there was no sidewalk.

The report also said that local governments have significantly reduced traffic enforcement efforts in recent years, which may be contributing to an increase in risky driving behavior, resulting in more pedestrian fatalities.

Agencies contributed to this story.