Pedestrian Deaths Spiked In Maryland During Pandemic

MARYLAND — Speeding, drunken driving and distracted drivers are the likely culprits behind a spike in pedestrian deaths recorded in several U.S. states in 2020, including Maryland, according to new data.

Bad driver behavior during the coronavirus pandemic likely contributed to the largest-ever nationwide increase in pedestrian deaths recorded in a single year, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association’s 2020 report on pedestrian fatalities by state.

Based on preliminary data provided by state highway safety offices, 147 pedestrian deaths were reported in Maryland in 2020, an 18 percent increase from 2019.

RELATED: Pandemic Revs Up Bad Driver Behavior, U.S. Traffic Fatalities

Nationally, pedestrian deaths increased in 2020 despite a 13 percent decrease in the number of miles traveled by drivers.

“Last year was filled with so much death and loss as COVID swept across the country. As America gets vaccinated and returns to normal, we need to treat pedestrian safety like the public health emergency that it is,” Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, said in a news release.

“We must strengthen our efforts to protect those on foot from traffic violence by implementing equitable and proven countermeasures that protect people walking and address those driving behaviors that pose the greatest risk,” Adkins said.

Data for the report was provided by state highway safety offices. Since the data is preliminary, it may also be incomplete, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. The numbers are meant to provide an early look at 2020 pedestrian deaths, months before the data is available through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System.

Nationally, the Governors Highway Safety Association projects there were 6,721 pedestrian fatalities in 2020, a 4.8 percent increase from the 6,412 deaths reported in 2019. The Governors Highway Safety Association adjusted 2020’s total from 6,410 to account for historical differences between preliminary and final numbers.

The projected increase in pedestrian fatalities in 2020 continues a decade-long pattern of rising pedestrian deaths, the report states. In fact, from 2010-2019, pedestrian fatalities increased by 46 percent.

— By Megan VerHelst and Elizabeth Janney