Trending
You will find few people who will argue about the benefits of simply taking a walk.
And, if you travel through just about any neighborhood during just about any time of the day or evening, you are sure to find area residents out for a stroll and just enjoying being outside.
While it can be a great way to get from Point A to Point B, walking can come with its own risks, a reminder that came a little more than a month ago from the Governors Highway Safety Association. Its preliminary report on Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State contains a projection that 7,508 people walking in the United States were struck and killed in 2022.
That number marked a 1 percent increase from the 2021 totals, the report showed. If the total seems large, consider that the report includes another reason to take notice -- pedestrian fatalities, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, have increased 77 percent since 2010, while all other traffic-related deaths have gone up by 25 percent.
Add up all of the numbers, the association reports, and pedestrian deaths in 2021 accounted for 17.6 percent of all traffic fatalities, a number that has steadily increased since 2010, when it stood at 13 percent.
When you look at our region, you will find some mixed results, said the safety association, which is a nonprofit representing highway safety offices of states, territories, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In Ohio, there were five fewer pedestrian fatalities in 2022 (166) than there were in 2021 (171.) West Virginia also saw a lower total, with 11 fewer fatalities in 2022 (26) than there were in 2021 (37.) Pennsylvania saw an increase to 186 in 2022 from 182 in 2021.
None of our states can compare with the most dangerous states: California is projected to have the most pedestrian fatalities at 1,100, which is 20 fewer than 2021. Texas, with 834 projected deaths (an increase of eight), and Florida, with 824 projected deaths (a decrease of nine) also are dangerous places for those who walk.
North Dakota had the lowest fatality rate at six, while Rhode Island and Vermont each had seven.
Across the country, speeding was listed as a factor in 599 pedestrian deaths in 2021, representing 8.1 percent of the total.
It's accepted that alcohol and driving don't mix well -- but pedestrians and alcohol also can be a dangerous blend. The numbers show that in 2021, 30.5 percent of pedestrians 16 and older killed in a crash had a blood-alcohol number of 0.08 or higher. That number was highest in the 21-24 age group -- 38 percent -- followed by the 45-54 age group -- 36 percent. It was 34 percent in the 25-34 and 35-44 age groups and 33 percent in the 55-64 age group.
It also should come as no surprise that the most fatalities occur at night -- 77 percent -- a number that has increased 86 percent since 2010. And, the report shows, the presence of a sidewalk can make a big difference in pedestrian safety -- 68.7 percent of the 2021 fatalities happened in areas where no sidewalk was noted in accident reports, a number that has increased from 59.2 percent since 2017.
Drivers who are in a hurry to get where they are going also present a problem for pedestrians -- 8.1 percent of pedestrian deaths involved speeding. And, as the report points out, the risk of death for pedestrians increases as speeds increase -- from 10 percent when a vehicle is traveling at 23 miles per hour to 90 percent at 58 miles per hour.
Reducing speeding, in fact, is one of the ways the GHSA looks to improve pedestrian safety. It and focusing traffic enforcement on impaired or distracted drivers are part of what it calls the Safe System program. Other principles include designing and building safer roads, engaging with the homeless and educating young drivers about the responsibility they have to look out for and yield to pedestrians.
Pedestrians are not the only people placed in danger by speeding drivers -- drivers and their passengers also are at risk, a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reported on July 19. NHTSA numbers show, AAA said, that speeding was a factor in more than 27 percent of the more than 42,000 traffic deaths recorded in 2022.
AAA research shows that raising posted speed limits was associated with higher crash frequencies. Lower speed limits were associated with decreased crash frequencies but led to greater numbers of speed limit violations, said the foundation, which lists as its mission preventing traffic deaths and injuries by researching their causes and by educating the public about preventing crashes and reducing injuries.
The numbers contained in these reports certainly give us a lot to think about, whether we are out for a pleasant stroll, walking a dog, putting some serious exercise time in or getting behind the wheel of our vehicle.
(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times.)