Fatality study: Spike in pedestrian deaths, with California leading the way

California No. 1 state in nation for fatalities, study finds

As San Francisco police searched for a driver who fled after striking and injuring a 76-year-old woman crossing a street in North Beach this week, data released Thursday showed pedestrian deaths nationwide were at their highest number in more than four decades — surpassing motorist fatalities.

The Governors Highway Safety Association report also showed California as one of the states with the most pedestrian-related fatalities in 2016.

California, New York, Florida and Texas had 42 percent of all pedestrian deaths in the first half of 2016, according to the report. Overall, the report projected an 11 percent spike nationwide in pedestrian deaths in 2016 from 2015 — the largest proportion of traffic fatalities recorded in the past 25 years.

Even though California saw an 11 percent dip in pedestrian fatalities in the first six months of 2016 compared with the same period in 2015, the state still held the No. 1 ranking, mainly because of its size.

“Because we are so big, it makes our numbers big,” said Chris Cochran, the assistant director of the state Office of Traffic Safety.

In general, pedestrian fatalities are at an all-time high, increasing 25 percent from 2010 to 2015. The number of traffic deaths has risen six percent in that same time span.

The study found a number of contributing factors to the uptick in pedestrian-related deaths, including a thriving economy and most shocking, the number of distracted drivers and pedestrians, said Kara Macek, the senior director of communications and programs for the Governors Highway Safety Association.

The use of wireless devices, like cell phones, is the “only major societal change” that could cause such dramatic and alarming numbers, Macek added.

And when it comes to a thriving economy, Macek said researchers found that when people have more income and are able to afford more vacations, it translates to more drivers and pedestrians on the road.

“Gas prices play into that, too,” Macek said, adding that with lower gas prices, people are more inclined to travel by car.

The report gathered data on traffic deaths from all states and the District of Columbia for the first six months of 2016 and was deduced for the remainder of the year.

Five people were killed while walking in San Francisco from February 2016 through February 2017, compared with none in 2015, according to data put together by Vision Zero SF, the city’s program to eliminate traffic deaths.

The woman who was run down in San Francisco by a driver Wednesday afternoon was walking at the intersection of Filbert Street and Columbus Avenue in North Beach near Washington Square Park — less than a mile away from some of the city’s most notorious intersections for pedestrian accidents.

She was knocked unconscious and transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, said Officer Giselle Talkoff of the San Francisco Police Department.

Vision Zero SF has designated two intersections in North Beach as “high-injury intersections.” Taylor and North Point streets, a half a mile away from the most recent hit-and-run, and Beach at Hyde streets are both among the most dangerous in the city for crashes.

Vision Zero SF has also categorized a number intersections in the Western Addition, Bayview and Hayes Valley neighborhoods as harmful for pedestrians.

Efforts to reduce the number of fatalities that befall pedestrians, particularly in metropolitan areas, have been launched by programs like Vision Zero SF.

The Governors Highway Safety Association suggested the building of refuge islands, sidewalk and pedestrian overpasses, improving traffic signals and street lighting and high-visibility crosswalks to improve safety.

Furthermore, the data found that fast drivers must be curbed in order to prevent more pedestrian fatalities.

The use of roundabouts in place of stop signs and traffic signals, speed humps and curb extensions are all strategies to get drivers to slow down, the Governors Highway Safety Association reported.

Ultimately, education, enforcement, engineering and awareness are what makes streets safer, Macek said.

“A little eye contact goes a long way,” Macek said. “It’s helped me both as a driver and as a pedestrian.”