Pedestrian deaths continue to rise in the U.S., data shows

Pedestrian deaths in the U.S. rose 5 percent in the first half of 2022, averaging 19 fatalities per day, according to an analysis by the Governors Highway Safety Association.

Drivers struck and killed 3,434 people in the first six months of 2022, an increase of 168 deaths from the same period a year earlier, the organization said in a report issued early Tuesday.

2021 already marked a 40-year high in pedestrian deaths.

Pedestrian fatalities have risen 18 percent in the past three years, part of a "heartbreaking" safety crisis, Adam Snider, the association's director of communications, told Automotive News.

"Nineteen people every single day in the first half of 2022 went out for a walk and didn't come home," Snider said.

The report cited an increase in dangerous driving behaviors, such as speeding, and a decrease in traffic enforcement during the pandemic as factors in the recent surge in deaths. Despite a return to traditional travel habits, those driving behaviors have persisted, Snider said.

Beyond the pandemic, there are more entrenched problems causing the increase. Road planners prioritize faster-moving traffic,and sidewalk infrastructure is inadequate in many places, according to the report. A proliferation of larger, heavier vehicles was also a factor, the report said.

Overall traffic fatalities increased during the pandemic, reaching 42,915 in 2021, the first time the number had crested above 40,000 since 2007.

The association's latest report suggests pedestrian fatalities are continuing to rise at a faster rate than overall deaths: NHTSA estimated a 0.5 percent increase in traffic fatalities in the same six months of 2022.

But the governors association does not make comparisons between the two. The organization's analysis is based on preliminary data provided by State Highway Safety Offices, which generally have higher numbers because they include deaths occurring more than 30 days after a crash and they classify people on e-scooters and skateboards as pedestrians, whereas the federal agency does not.

The numbers from the State Highway Safety Offices are generally 2 percent higher than those from NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System data, the governors association said.

California, Florida and Texas accounted for 38 percent of the early 2022 pedestrian fatalities despite being home to 28 percent of the U.S. population. The gap is attributed to warmer climates that promote walking and higher numbers of urban areas where vehicles share the road with more pedestrians.

"The only way to reverse this awful trend is to do more of everything that works," said Jonathan Adkins, the association's CEO. "More and better-designed infrastructure to keep people walking safe, equitable enforcement of traffic safety laws to stop dangerous driving and engaging more communities where the impacts of this crisis are felt the hardest."