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GHSA Reports More Than 6,500 Pedestrians Killed on U.S. Roads Last Year

Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA)recently released their annual spotlight report, “Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State: 2019 Preliminary Data.” In the report, the GHSA predicts that 6,590 pedestrian fatalities occurred in 2019, which accounts for 17% of motor-vehicle-related fatalities—an increase of 3.4% from the previous year.

This data reflects the continued rise in traffic-related pedestrian fatalities across the nation for the past 10 years. From 2009 to 2018, pedestrian traffic fatalities increased by 53%, while all other traffic-related fatalities only increased by 2%.

The GHSA report indicates that Nevada saw an increase in pedestrian fatalities in the first half of 2019 compared to the same time period in 2018 (42 in 2019 and 32 in 2018). According to the full 12-month (preliminary) data, Nevada actually saw a decrease in pedestrian fatalities in 2019 (70 in 2019 vs 79 in 2018).

The GHSA reports that Nevada has taken a 4E approach to combat traffic fatalities and highlights engineering safety projects across the state, such as the Nevada Department of Transportation’s (NDOT’s) Boulder Highway Pedestrian Crossings project; pedestrian lead intervals; pedestrian-specific lighting in Southern Nevada; and significant redesigns of the downtown areas in Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, and Reno, utilizing U.S. limits to set lower speeds.

When looking at all motor-vehicle-related fatalities, Nevada has actually seen a decrease of 41% since representatives of the 4 Es started collaborating in support of implementing the first Nevada Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) in 2006. Nevada’s safety stakeholders continue to develop and implement strategies and actions through the  SHSP to significantly decrease pedestrian fatalities throughout the state.

We invite you to visit Zero Fatalities Pedestrian Safety to learn what you can do as both a pedestrian and a driver to help lower the risk of traffic-related fatalities.

The full GHSA report is available to read at ghsa.org/resources/Pedestrians20.