GHSA Releases New Report on Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State

June 3, 2021

The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) recently released a new report, "Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State: 2020 Preliminary Data" that provides an indepth overview of state and national trends in pedestrian traffic fatalities for January - December, 2020. Based on preliminary data provided by State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs), the GHSA projects that there were 6,721 pedestrian deaths in 2020, a 4.8% increase from what was reported in 2019. ThisCover of the new GHSA Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State Report increase also occured despite a 13.2% decrease in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) during the pandemic. The GHSA also notes that in 2020, "the pedestrian fatality rate was 2.3 per billion VMT, a shocking and unprecedented 21% increase from 1.9 in 2019. This projection is the largest ever annual increase in the pedestrian death rate since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) was established in 1975."

Report Highlights

The report provides an analysis of the troubling rise in pedestrian deaths, the contributing factors, and a discussion of what can be done at the state and local level to reduce pedestrian fatalities and injuries. 

Key findings included:

  • From 2010 to 2019 the number of pedestrian fatalities involving SUVs increased at a faster rate compared to passenger cars – 69% versus 46%.
  • During the 10-year period 2010 to 2019, the number of nighttime pedestrian fatalities increased by 54%, compared to a 16% increase in daytime pedestrian fatalities.
  • A comparison of pedestrian fatalities by race and population data for 2015-2019 found that Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) accounted for a larger proportion of pedestrian fatalities than expected based on their respective share of the population.

Data analysis was conducted by Richard Retting of Sam Schwartz Consulting and the full report is available to download here.