10 Deadliest Cities For Pedestrians
Rear View Safety prides itself on improving safety for everyone on the road, including those in front of the wheel: pedestrians.
While in-traffic deaths just had their worst 1st quarter since the early 2000s, the rate of pedestrians hit by vehicles hasn't fared much better.
In fact, pedestrian deaths rose during 2020, hitting an average of 18 a day and 65,000 in total. The annual total in 2021 may be even higher, once the calculations are said and done.
The increased foot traffic during the pandemic shut-downs was surely a contributing factor. The lack of proper safety infrastructure and poor urban planning of high traffic conduits through neighborhoods without consideration for its inhabitants are also partly to blame.
In low-income urban areas, faded or missing crosswalks combine with badly designed sidewalks and poor lane delineation–a recipe for pedestrian disasters.
According to a study done by Smart Growth America using data from the Governor’s Highway Safety Association, these cities have the highest averages of people getting struck and killed by a vehicle (per 100,000 people):
- 1. Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 4.25
- 2. Albuquerque, NM 4.19
- 3. Memphis, TN-MS-AR 3.93
- 4. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 3.55
- 5. Charleston-North Charleston, SC 3.54
- 6. Jacksonville, FL 3.44
- 7. Bakersfield, CA 3.41
- 8. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 3.37
- 9. Stockton, CA 3.35
- 10. Fresno, CA 3.25
