North Carolina's Pedestrian Traffic Deaths Are Up: New Study

NORTH CAROLINA — Walking is the most basic mode of transportation, but preliminary data from the Governors Highway Safety Association shows that this mode of travel has become increasingly risky in recent years.

North Carolina ranks No. 6 in the country for most pedestrian traffic deaths in the first six months of 2019, according to the Washington, D.C.-based safety association.

Here’s more information from the recently published report for our state:

• Pedestrian fatalities in January - June 2019: 112
• Pedestrian fatalities in January - June 2018: 100
• Percent change from 2018-2019: 12 percent

In the first six months of 2019, North Carolina had 1.06 pedestrian traffic fatalities per 100,000 people.

To combat the trend, the NC Department of Administration rolled out a “WalkSmartNC” public awareness campaign in October and conducted a pedestrian safety study in a 60-block area in Downtown Raleigh.

New Mexico finished as the state with the highest pedestrian fatality rate in the United States for the period, with 2.24 deaths per 100,000 people. The top five were rounded out by Hawaii, Florida, South Carolina and Arizona.

On a national scale, the Governors Highway Safety Association projected the nationwide number of pedestrians killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2019 was 6,590, which represents a 5 percent increase from 2018.

The projection for 2019 would be the most pedestrian fatalities in the United States since 1988.

The GHSA attributes the rise in pedestrian fatalities to a number of possible factors, including population growth, weather changes and the decriminalization of marijuana.

“Another possible factor contributing to the recent rise in the overall number of pedestrian fatalities could be the large growth in smartphone use over the past decade, which can be a significant source of both cognitive and visual distraction for all road users,” authors of the Governors Highway Safety Association wrote in the report.

However, it’s not all negatives in the 2019 preliminary data findings.

• Pedestrian fatalities during the first half of 2019 declined in 20 states and Washington, D.C., compared with the same period in 2018.
• Six states reported double-digit declines in both the number and percent change in pedestrian fatalities from the same period in 2018.
• Seven states reported two consecutive years of declining numbers of pedestrian fatalities.

The Governors Highway Safety Association compiled the report by pulling data from the State Highway Safety Offices, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System.

Here are the 10 states with the most pedestrian traffic deaths in the first half of 2019:

1. California: 519
2. Florida: 368
3. Texas: 313
4. New York: 120
5. Georgia: 116
6. North Carolina: 112
7. Arizona: 111
8. South Carolina: 83
9. New Jersey: 79
10. Pennsylvania: 74

The full report is available on the Governors Highway Safety Association’s website.