Arizona has highest rate of pedestrian deaths in the U.S., report says

The Republic | azcentral.com

Striped crosswalk with pedestrian crossing sign and arrow.

Arizona has the highest rate of pedestrian deaths in the nation, according to new figures released Wednesday by the Governor's Highway Safety Association.

The state previously ranked third in the nation based on the group's 2016 data, which found Arizona had a pedestrian death rate of 1.4 deaths per 100,000 people for the first six months of that year. The Arizona Republic reported in December the state recorded 197 pedestrian fatalities in all of 2016.

Preliminary data issued by the national organization on Wednesday for the first six months of 2017 from each state showed Arizona's rate of pedestrian deaths had jumped to 1.61 per 100,000 people, making it No. 1 when accidents are viewed in relation to the state's population.

The Governor's Office of Highway Safety in Arizona said Wednesday the total number of pedestrian deaths for 2017 jumped to 224 from the previous year.

The increased rate of pedestrian deaths in Arizona is nearly double the national average of 0.81 deaths per 100,000 people and translates to 113 people killed from January though June of 2017, the national report said. That's up from 101 during the same time span in 2016.

The national report released Wednesday showed that during the first six months of last year, Arizona ranked fifth in terms of the actual number of pedestrian accidents, behind only California, Florida, Texas and New York, all of which have much larger populations. The 113 tallied in Arizona during that period nearly match the number recorded in New York state, 115, the report said.

Funding enforcement and education

The Governor's Office of Highway Safety has received a $793,250 grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for pedestrian and bicyclist enforcement and education efforts in Arizona, agency Director Alberto Gutier said Wednesday. There were 30 bicyclist deaths in the state last year in Arizona, he said.

The grant's funding will primarily target the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas. Police departments Chandler, El Mirage, Glendale, Mesa, Phoenix, Sahuarita, Scottsdale, Surprise and Tucson will receive a share of the funding.

Gutier said the first phase of funding, around $250,000, will go toward education and will include public service announcements in English and Spanish on radio and television. It will also target people who use public transit, warning of the dangers of not using crosswalks when crossing the street, Gutier said.

"I've seen the consequences and the lack of respect for pedestrians and bicyclists," Gutier said, noting that 26 percent of all traffic fatalities in Arizona last year involved pedestrians or bicyclists.

Gutier said the second phase of the effort will emphasize targeted enforcement.

When the agency was applying for the federal grant, it tested the targeted enforcement method near a busy downtown Phoenix intersection located by a light rail station.

Several officers were stationed on the light rail platform to watch for and talk to jaywalkers crossing the street without a crosswalk after getting off the train.

"No one likes to be talked to by a police officer in front of other people," Gutier said, adding that the measure proved to be a "great deterrent."

The education stage will last for around a year, at which point agencies will begin the enforcement stage, Gutier said.