Despite Less Driving, Pedestrian Deaths Increased Significantly Throughout Pandemic

     Fewer drivers were on the road in the U.S. in 2020 than in 2019, however, 21% more pedestrians were killed by vehicles last year than in the year before the COVID pandemic, reported the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA).       

     While the GHSA did report that 19 states decreased in pedestrian deaths, last year’s national spike revealed the largest ever annual increase in pedestrian fatalities.        

     Speeding, driving under the influence, and driving in the dark, and drivers who are distracted by their phones are responsible the disturbing uptick in deaths, according to the association’s press release.

     The GHSA also blamed infrastructure issues, such as traffic congestion, poor roads and bridges, which, the  website of the Committee for Economic Development agrees, all lead to an increase in traffic fatalities.

      “We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to these unacceptable numbers of pedestrian deaths,” said Richard Retting of Sam Schwartz Consulting, who conducted the data analysis.

      Additionally, while the number of pedestrian deaths that involved "passenger cars," such as sedans, increased over the last decade by 46%, the number of fatalities that involved SUVs increased by 69%, the GHSA's studies have found.

     “As America gets vaccinated and returns to normal, we need to treat pedestrian safety like the public health emergency that it is,” GHSA Executive Director Jonathan Adkins, who mentioned that the association will meet this fall to discuss strategies that will mitigate pedestrian deaths.

Photo by:  Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office.