Pedestrian Deaths Spike In 2020; Bad Driver Behavior Likely Cause

ACROSS AMERICA — Speeding and drunken and distracted driving are the likely culprits behind a spike in pedestrian deaths recorded in several U.S. states last year, according to new data released Thursday.

In fact, bad driver behavior during the coronavirus pandemic likely contributed to the largest-ever nationwide increase in pedestrian deaths recorded in a single year, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association’s 2020 report on pedestrian fatalities by state.

Nationally, the Governors Highway Safety Association projects there were 6,721 pedestrian fatalities in 2020, a 4.8 percent increase from the 6,412 deaths reported in 2019.

It should be noted that the Governors Highway Safety Association adjusted 2020’s total from 6,410 to account for historical differences between preliminary and final numbers.

• RELATED: Pandemic Revs Up Bad Driver Behavior, U.S. Traffic Fatalities

Kansas saw the biggest jump in pedestrian fatalities last year, according to the report. The state reported 49 pedestrian deaths in 2020 compared to 18 in 2019, a 174 percent increase. Vermont followed with a 159 percent spike in deaths, as well as Rhode Island with a 121 percent increase.

Another notable finding in the report: Pedestrian deaths increased despite a 13 percent decrease in the number of miles traveled by drivers in 2020.

This means the pedestrian fatality rate in 2020 was 2.3 per billion vehicle miles traveled, a “shocking and unprecedented” 21 percent increase from 1.9 per billion in 2019, the report states.

“Last year was filled with so much death and loss as COVID swept across the country. As America gets vaccinated and returns to normal, we need to treat pedestrian safety like the public health emergency that it is,” Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, said in a news release.

“We must strengthen our efforts to protect those on foot from traffic violence by implementing equitable and proven countermeasures that protect people walking and address those driving behaviors that pose the greatest risk,” Adkins said.

The good news is pedestrian deaths did decline in 19 states. Maine saw the biggest drop, reporting a 47 percent decline in pedestrian deaths. Hawaii and Delaware followed, both reporting a 46 percent drop.

Thursday’s report follows a similar one released in February, in which the Governors Highway Safety Association projected the number of pedestrian deaths for the first six months of 2020. The new report adds preliminary data from the last six months of the year.

Data for the report was provided by state highway safety offices. The numbers are meant to provide an early look at 2020 pedestrian deaths, months before the data is available through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System.

Since the data is preliminary, it may also be incomplete, the report notes.

The projected increase in pedestrian fatalities in 2020 continues a decade-long pattern of rising pedestrian deaths, the report states. In fact, from 2010-2019, pedestrian fatalities increased by 46 percent.

Read the full report by the Governors Highway Safety Association.