Pedestrian deaths in 2022 hit their highest level since 1981

After rising steadily for the last several decades—and especially fast throughout the pandemic—traffic-related pedestrian deaths hit their highest level since 1981 last year. According to a new report released today by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), American drivers are projected to have struck and killed at least 7,508 people walking in 2022—marking a 77% jump since 2010 and a 1% increase over the number of pedestrian fatalities documented in 2021.

There’s no indication the upward trend will decrease this year.

“Every day, 20 people go for a walk and do not return home. These are people living their daily lives—commuting to and from school and work, picking up groceries, walking the dog, getting some exercise—who died suddenly and violently,” said GHSA Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Adkins in a statement about the latest publication of data. “The saddest part is that these crashes are preventable. We know what works—better-designed infrastructure, lower speeds, addressing risky driving behaviors that pose a danger to people walking. We must do these things and more to reverse this awful trend and protect people on foot.”

Meanwhile, all traffic fatalities remain at a record high, according to data published recently by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Projections show that 9,330 people died in vehicle and traffic accidents in the first three months of 2023. While this number represents a 3.3% decrease from the same period last year, it’s still the second-highest number of fatalities ever recorded in the first quarter.

“In the midst of a national traffic safety crisis, traffic fatalities dropped slightly for the first time after years of surging upward—a hopeful sign, but one that cannot make us complacent with more than 40,000 people per year dying on American roads,” said Corinne Kisner, executive director of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) in a statement. “The death toll on our country’s streets remains far higher than that of any other industrialized country, and pedestrian deaths are at a 40-year high. The simple culprits—too many U.S. roads designed to move vehicles quickly instead of keeping people safe; unsafe or nonexistent infrastructure for people walking, biking, and taking transit; and SUVs that continue to increase in size – require urgent, all-hands-on-deck, multifaceted solutions from all levels of government.”

Among the life-saving measures noted by Kisner are reforming outdated approaches to setting speed limits, using proven safe street designs, rethinking vehicle safety ratings, and pushing states to use federal funding to build safer transportation infrastructure.

Notably, the number of projected pedestrian deaths documented in the GHSA report is probably closer to 7,600 because Oklahoma didn’t provide data due to a technical issue. On average, there were two pedestrian deaths for every billion vehicle miles traveled. Digging further into the data, the highway safety advocacy organization’s report, “Spotlight on Highway Safety: Pedestrian Fatalities by State,” documents that most fatalities happen at night, with 77% last taking place in the dark in 2021. Twenty-percent happened in daylight, and 3% during dawn or dusk.

“Since 2010, nighttime fatal crashes have increased by 86%, compared with a 31% rise in daytime pedestrian deaths,” reads the statement about the report. “Drivers of passenger cars have consistently accounted for the greatest number of fatal pedestrian crashes. However, over the past decade the number of pedestrian deaths in crashes involving sport utility vehicles (SUVs) increased at a far faster rate (120%) than deaths in crashes involving passenger cars (26%).”

The report from GHSA also highlights an overrepresentation in pedestrian fatalities among people of color. While recent data isn’t yet available, between 2018 and 2020, the proportion of pedestrian fatalities who were listed as White, non-Hispanic on their death certificate fell from 47% to 41%. Meanwhile, Black and Hispanic people rose from 19% to 20% and 20% to 21% respectively.

Infrastructure was also a decisive factor.

“In 2021, 69% of pedestrian fatalities occurred in locations where no sidewalk was noted on the crash report, up from 59% in 2017 and continuing a steady upward trajectory in recent years,” the report says. “The presence of sidewalks can help protect people walking by separating them from motor vehicle traffic, but additional infrastructure design considerations, such as raised crosswalks and traffic calming that slows vehicle speeds, can provide even more protection.”

Among other notable data points highlighted in the report, the percentage of pedestrian deaths that involved speeding decreased slightly to about 8% (still an increase from the pre-pandemic rate of 6-7%), and “Non-freeway arterial roads, which typically carry large volumes of traffic at high speeds, are the most dangerous for people on foot, accounting for 60% of all fatalities in 2021,” the report says.