Here’s How Wisconsin Ranks In Pedestrian Traffic Deaths

MILWAUKEE, WI — Walking is the most basic mode of transportation, but preliminary data from the Governors Highway Safety Association shows that this mode of travel has become increasingly risky in recent years.

Wisconsin ranks 35th in the country for most pedestrian traffic deaths in the first six months of 2019, according to the Washington, D.C.-based safety association.

Here’s more information from the recently published report for our state:

• Pedestrian fatalities in January - June 2019: 13
• Pedestrian fatalities in January - June 2018: 20
• Percent change from 2018-2019: -36 percent

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In the first six months of 2019, Wisconsin had 13 pedestrian traffic fatalities per 100,000 people.

According to the report, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation emphasizes pedestrian safety in its Strategic Highway Safety Plan, and the state has a goal of zero preventable deaths on Wisconsin roadways.

Per the report, specific measures include the following:

● Engineering/design guidance for pedestrian facility enhancements including shared-use paths,
HAWK signals, Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacons (or similar enhanced non-motorized crossings), sidewalks and leading pedestrian intervals.

● Installing/updating curb ramps in the highway improvement program as part of the ADA
Transition Plan.

● Participating in the Federal Highway Administration’s Every Day Counts Innovations — Safe Transportation for Every Pedestrian (STEP) 2.0.

● Hosting a pair of two-day workshops on Designing for Pedestrian Safety, and hosting two all day Law Enforcement Pedestrian trainings.

● Providing High-Visibility Pedestrian Enforcement Grants to 13 different communities in 2020.

● Hosting a Federal Highway Administration two-day training on Designing Pedestrian Facilities for Accessibility.

● Working with the Wisconsin Council of the Blind to better understand visual impairment issues
as they relate to various facilities.

● Funding Safe Routes to School Programs in La Crosse County, Northeast Wisconsin, Madison
and Milwaukee.

● Helping to develop a public Community Maps tool that identifies where pedestrian crashes
occur and encourages stakeholders to use the data to guide where additional actions or
improvements are warranted.

● Working with a local university to pilot a pedestrian exposure model that will include risk
assessment such that department resources can be more effectively targeted.

● Providing a grant to a safety coalition in Milwaukee, MilWALKee Walks, that aims to increase
yielding to pedestrians at marked and unmarked crosswalks throughout the cit

New Mexico Has Highest Rate

New Mexico finished as the state with the highest pedestrian fatality rate in the United States for the period, with 2.24 deaths per 100,000 people. The top five were rounded out by Hawaii, Florida, South Carolina and Arizona.

On a national scale, the Governors Highway Safety Association projected the nationwide number of pedestrians killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2019 was 6,590, which represents a 5 percent increase from 2018.

The projection for 2019 would be the most pedestrian fatalities in the United States since 1988.

The GHSA attributes the rise in pedestrian fatalities to a number of possible factors, including population growth, weather changes and the decriminalization of marijuana.

“Another possible factor contributing to the recent rise in the overall number of pedestrian fatalities could be the large growth in smartphone use over the past decade, which can be a significant source of both cognitive and visual distraction for all road users,” authors of the Governors Highway Safety Association wrote in the report.

However, it’s not all negatives in the 2019 preliminary data findings.

• Pedestrian fatalities during the first half of 2019 declined in 20 states and Washington, D.C., compared with the same period in 2018.
• Six states reported double-digit declines in both the number and percent change in pedestrian fatalities from the same period in 2018.
• Seven states reported two consecutive years of declining numbers of pedestrian fatalities.

The Governors Highway Safety Association compiled the report by pulling data from the State Highway Safety Offices, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System.

Here are the 10 states with the most pedestrian traffic deaths in the first half of 2019:

1. California: 519
2. Florida: 368
3. Texas: 313
4. New York: 120
5. Georgia: 116
6. North Carolina: 112
7. Arizona: 111
8. South Carolina: 83
9. New Jersey: 79
10. Pennsylvania: 74

The full report is available on the Governors Highway Safety Association’s website.