California No. 1 In U.s. Study Showing Spike In Pedestrian Deaths

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. 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. [...] 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. 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. 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. 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.