Pedestrian Traffic Deaths Up In Pennsylvania: Study

PENNSYLVANIA — Pedestrian traffic deaths in Pennsylvania are up 40 percent from the previous year, according to a new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association.

The safety organization looked at pedestrian traffic deaths in every state to see which had the highest rates. The group then broke down the information by total number of fatalities and the percentage change from the same time period in 2017.

In Pennsylvania, there were 64 pedestrian traffic deaths between January and June 2017. During that same time span in 2018, there were 90 pedestrian traffic deaths, according to the analysis.

Pennsylvania had one of the highest increases in pedestrian traffic fatality rates in the nation, the report said. It ranked seventh nationwide for percentage change from the second half of 2017 to the second half of 2018.

The study pointed to actions taken in Pennsylvania to alleviate pedestrian traffic deaths.

Here's what it found:

Pennsylvania law enforcement conduct targeted enforcement stings for motorists who fail to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) website has a number of safety videos targeted at parents and children that are focused on walking safely to school. Packages of pedestrian safety cards have been distributed at numerous events. The state’s district press and safety officers execute a range of other activities in support of pedestrian safety. From an engineering perspective, the state is focused on being more aggressive with road diets, bulb-outs, speed tables and raised intersections.

If you're headed to New Mexico, you’ll want to be extra careful walking alongside the road there. The state has the highest pedestrian fatality rate in the nation, with 2.26 deaths for every hundred thousand people.

Pedestrian fatality rates have been on the increase in the United States. The number of deaths increased by 35 percent in recent years, going from 4,414 total deaths in 2008 to 5,977 deaths in 2017, according to the safety administration.

While it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact cause for the uptick, the government highway group sites the national shift away from passenger cars to larger trucks and the growth of smartphone use as two possible reasons.

It’s not all bad news for pedestrian fatality rates in 2018:

• Pedestrian deaths during the first half of 2018 declined in 23 states compared with the same period in 2017.
• Six states had double-digit declines in both the number and percent change in pedestrian fatalities from 2017.
• Three states reported two consecutive years of a declining number of pedestrian deaths.

Here are the 10 states with the most pedestrian traffic deaths in the first half of 2018:

1. California: 432
2. Florida: 330
3. Texas: 298
4. Georgia: 133
5. Arizona: 125
6. New York: 117
7. North Carolina: 102
8. Pennsylvania: 90
9. Illinois: 80
10. Louisiana: 77

Patch reporter Gus Saltonstall contributed to this report.