PHOENIX — Arizona is among the best in the country in business and population growth, but it’s also near the top of a list that it would rather avoid: pedestrian deaths.
There were more than 7,300 pedestrians killed nationwide in 2023, including 271 who were struck by a vehicle while walking on Arizona roadways, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
As a percentage of the population, Arizona ranks second in the nation for pedestrian fatalities at 3.57 deaths per 100,000 people, trailing only New Mexico’s rate of 4.93.
Pedestrian deaths were on the decline for decades but have risen sharply since 2009. The country has seen a 78% increase in pedestrian deaths from 2009-2023, compared to just 13% in all other traffic deaths.
“It’s very hard to find a very specific obvious cause,” said Brian Potter, a senior infrastructure fellow with the nonpartisan think tank Institute for Progress.
What might be causing rise in pedestrian deaths?
Potter said there’s been two prevailing theories: distractions caused by smartphones and the increase in bigger cars capable of larger accidents with worse visibility.
While Potter admitted some of the data is limited, there’s not much to suggest that either distracted drivers or pedestrians are to blame for the fatalities. In fact, Arizona saw a nearly 20% decrease in distracted driving-related accidents between 2015 and 2023.
Although Potter said bigger vehicles do seem to play a role in the seriousness of accidents, there has also been a stark increase in the number of smaller cars involved in pedestrian deaths.
He said comparing places with high fatality rates to ones that don’t might offer some answers.
“Most of these pedestrian fatalities, they take place on roads with pretty high speed limits, so like 40 mph, 45 mph and above,” Potter said.
Potter said Arizona’s wide open roadways explain its higher rate of pedestrian deaths than a place like New York, where more congestion limits how fast cars can go.
Potter added that national safety standards could also be working against pedestrians when compared to European countries that haven’t seen the same rise in deaths.
“U.S. safety requirements, they incentivize having a really, really strong ‘A’ pillar, which is the pillar that supports the roof to the front and left of the driver,” he said.
Potter explained that also makes the pillar larger, which blocks more of the driver’s vision. He said those regulation changes started around the same time pedestrian deaths started rising.
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