In Brief:
- There were 88 fewer pedestrian deaths in the first half of 2024 than the first half of 2023, according to a new report.
- A reduction in deaths in California accounted for most of the drop.
- Pedestrian deaths hit a low point in 2009, then surged during the pandemic.
Pedestrian deaths on U.S. roads declined for a second straight year, but remain 48 percent higher than a decade ago, according to a new analysis from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA).
In the first half of 2024, there were 3,304 pedestrians killed by drivers, according to the report. That’s down from 3,392 in the first half of 2023 and 3,526 in the first half of 2022, the year with the most pedestrian deaths in four decades. The GHSA publishes the data twice a year, based on surveys of State Highway Safety offices.
“We really try to stay on top of this and call attention to it because we’re very committed to pedestrian safety and making sure the public understands the magnitude of this problem,” says Pam Shadel Fischer, a spokesperson for the GHSA.
Pedestrian deaths in the U.S. were at their lowest in 2009, but crept back up through the 2010s before surging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers have identified a variety of factors that help explain that surge. A reduction in traffic during the pandemic-related shutdowns created more opportunities for people to speed on open roads. Increases in substance abuse led to more impaired driving. Traffic enforcement was down. In addition, the average size and weight of American cars has been trending upward, causing more harm to pedestrians, bicyclists and passengers in smaller cars.
While the number of pedestrian deaths has declined for two years in a row, the reductions pale in comparison to the increases of the preceding years, Fischer says. The figures also vary widely by state. Despite the overall decrease, slightly more states saw an increase in pedestrian deaths than a decrease in the first half of last year. States with the biggest numerical increases in pedestrian deaths were North Carolina, New Jersey and Missouri, while Texas, Florida and California saw the biggest numerical decreases.
Governors Highway Safety Association
California saw 65 fewer pedestrian killings in the first half of last year than it did during the same period the year prior. That reduction accounts for almost three-quarters of the net decrease in pedestrian deaths nationwide during the period. It was a 12.9 percent reduction in California deaths from the prior year.
“I think we’re making modest progress to reduce deaths and serious injuries on California roads. We welcomed the 12.9 percent decline in those numbers,” says Samantha DeMelo, a spokesperson for the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). “For us, the only acceptable number of traffic deaths is zero, so we feel like we have a long way to go.”
DeMelo credited investments in infrastructure improvements and enforcement programs, including partnerships with California Highway Patrol, with stemming the growth of pedestrian deaths. The federal Safe Streets and Roads for All program, created under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, has also helped California cities reduce risk on roadways, DeMelo says. Last fall, California OTS announced nearly 500 grants for safety improvement programs to local governments. DeMelo says the grants represented a 12 percent increase in funding for projects focused on bicycle and pedestrian safety from the previous fiscal year.
Most states and cities claim to pursue a comprehensive approach to improving traffic safety, with strategies focused on enforcement, education campaigns for drivers and other road users, and roadway design and engineering projects to reduce risk. But their priorities vary greatly. Advocates often argue that the third category, roadway design, is the one that makes the biggest difference in terms of safety for roadway users. Some researchers have called for treating traffic deaths as a public health problem and making infrastructure investments that reduce the overall risk of injury.
The GHSA, which represents state highway safety programs, backs a range of tactics to reduce pedestrian deaths, including investing in things like sidewalks, crosswalks and better lighting, recognizing that many pedestrian deaths occur at night.
“Infrastructure can make a huge difference,” Fischer says. “But infrastructure improvements don’t happen overnight. They take time.”
Wyoming, Montana and New Hampshire had the largest reductions in the overall rate of pedestrian deaths by population.
